Luxury home deals prove it’s a swell time on Sunshine Coast

Competition for property on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is heating up, with three luxury deals sealed this month.

The 13-bedroom palatial waterfront home at 32-36 The Anchorage, Noosa Waters.

Competition for property on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is heating up as summer approaches, with three luxury deals sealed in the first half of the month.

A luxury beachfront apartment at Noosa’s prestigious Little Cove sparked a bidding frenzy when it was auctioned earlier this month. Eight hopeful buyers pushed the price up from the opening bid of $4.8m to the winning $6.3m offer.

Almost 40 bids were cast with the number of potential purchasers, several of whom hailed from interstate, shrinking to two after the property passed the $6m threshold. Apartment 1 eventually sold to a Melbourne family who had not visited the Coast in years, let alone viewed the property from lockdown.

Selling agent Nic Hunter of Tom Offermann Real Estate said the fierce competition was an indicator of the limited pool of property available.

“The market is extremely buoyant,” Mr Hunter said.

“Interstate buyers are seeking sanctuary in the higher end. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a positive of the Sunshine Coast and people who were considering what the next five to 10 years looked like are making the move now.

“What is frustrating from a buyer’s point of view is the little supply available.”

Several double-digit sales have already been signed off throughout the region this month.

The 13-bedroom palatial waterfront home at 32-36 The Anchorage, Noosa Waters, sold for $12m after a year on the market, setting a record for Noosaville. Known as “Hayven”, it was owned by the late businessman Donald Hay, who was behind the Hayco cleaning products brand.

Another mansion, this time within the exclusive Beaches Estate at Sunrise Beach, sold at the beginning of the month for $10m. The three-level beachfront home owned and designed by luxury builder Paul Clout offers direct beachfront access and ocean views from almost every room and was sold to an interstate buyer.

Property prices on the Sunshine Coast rose 7 per cent in the 12 months to August, according to data firm CoreLogic. The change outpaces growth on the Gold Coast (up 6.8 per cent) and Brisbane (up 3.5 per cent) over the same period.

A rare opportunity for significant landholding near the Noosa beachfront has come on the market for the first time in 25 years.

The 7989sq m site has been held by the Anglican Church South Queensland for 61 years and is currently taken up by a backpacker hostel on a lease to Ecolodge, which operates neighbouring accommodation and a bar/bistro.

It was originally owned by a local grazier, Walter Hay, who is considered to be the “father of Noosa”.

ACSQ group manager property Hiro Kawamata said the Anglican Church’s timing was right to see what long-term vision other accommodation and tourism ­operators might have for the site.

“With the current lease expiring for use as a backpackers lodge, we thought it was an ideal time to go to the public and test what else we could potentially do with the site,” Mr Kawamata said.

The expressions of interest campaign run by Blake Goddard and Matt Barker of Knight Frank closes on October 22.