The price of one of the rarest blocks of land in an emerging beachside suburb has jumped an astonishing 1200% per cent in a sign the sizzling property market is not cooling off.
The 551sqm lot at 402 Oceanic Drive, Wurtulla, sold at auction for $1.325 million and was the last block located on the “dry” side of the prized street.
Situated directly opposite a beach access, it hadn’t been built on since the estate was first carved up as part of the Kawana Waters development in the 1980s.
Every time the site has changed hands it has netted a considerable profit for the vendor.
It last sold for $95,000 in the year 2000 to the current vendor who held onto the block for 22 years with the intention of one day constructing a home.
The landholder’s decision to take his asset to market rather than build has scored him a $1.23 million profit.
Before that, it sold for $77,000 in 1993 and for $49,000 in 1989.
Ray White agent Adam Budd said there had been other interested buyers over the past two decades, but the vendor had held on.
He finally decided, “it’s time” because of a change of direction in his life and asked Mr Budd to take it to market.
After some strong bidding between six registered buyers, three of whom were most active, it sold to a local family from Little Mountain who intend to build their “dream home”, Mr Budd said.
A huge crowd of onlookers watched the tense spectacle which spilled onto the street.
Many of the Coast’s beachside suburbs have undergone seismic shifts over the past two years but Wurtulla’s property market transformation has been particularly astonishing, even for seasoned agents.
Known as a ‘working class’ area, its house-and-land packages were considered affordable, with a mix of average-priced “dry” blocks and premium sections of canal and beachfront.
But the opening of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, new housing developments at Birtinya and Bokarina Beach and a burgeoning retail and entertainment scene nearby have changed the dynamic.
Now properties that have not been updated since the 80s and 90s have been fetching upwards of $1 million.
Mr Budd said the Bokarina Beach estate nearby had “put the southern end of Kawana Waters on the map more” and changed the perception of the area.
“Previously people thought Buddina and Minyama were the place to be for lifestyle and waterfront,” he said.
- Related story: Bombshell beachside estate’s rapid rise to fame
The canals and lakes of the subdivision, which was approved in 1960, were not so much a lifestyle choice as an effective way to drain the swamp.
In the ensuing decades the area became popular with surfers and fishermen but it certainly did not command the prices of other beachside postcodes.
Mr Budd said the price fetched on the weekend showed there was still big demand among today’s buyers to live by the beach.
“The desirability for quality beachside is still out there and based on the number of people there on the day the interest is higher in particular with locals,” he said.
Auction results
12 WILLOW CRESCENT, MARCOOLA
SOLD UNDER THE HAMMER $1,375,000
4 Bed, 2 Bath, 2 Car, North Shore Realty, Jay Pashley
16 GALLAGHERS ROAD, TANAWHA
PASSED IN, CURRENTLY UNDER NEGOTIATION
8 Bed, 4 Bath, 10 Car, REMAX, Nathan Beasley
14 NORTHRIDGE COURT, SIPPY DOWNS
PASSED IN AT $675,000, FOR SALE – OFFERS OVER $799,00
4 Bed, 2 Bath, 2 Car, Ray White, Dallas Foster
3C 135 PARKYN PARADE, MOOLOOLABA
SOLD UNDER THE HAMMER $765,000
2 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Car, Ray White, Steven Allen
4/32-34 CAMFIELD STREET, ALEXANDRA HEADLAND
SOLD PRIOR TO AUCTION $620,000
2 Bed, 1 Bath, 1 Car, Ray White, Kathryn Willshire
11/58-60 SIXTH AVENUE, MOOLOOLABA
SOLD UNDER THE HAMMER $785,000
3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Car, Ray White, Keegan Sutton
39/10 CRAYFISH STREET, MOUNTAIN CREEK
PASSED IN, NOW LISTED AT $550,000
3 Bed, 2 Bath, 2 Car, Ray White, Will Van den Dungen
63 WILDERNESS CIRCUIT, LITTLE MOUNTAIN
SOLD POST AUCTION
4 Bed, 2 Bath, 2 Car, Ray white Brett Hughes
12 ALKIRA STREET, BUDDINA
PASSED IN AT $1,800,000
3 Bed, 1 Bath, 1 car, Ray White, Ryan Bradeley
10 BANGALOW STREET, NAMBOUR
PASSED IN, NOW FOR SALE
5 Bed, 3 Bath, 1 Car, Ray White, Alisha Galea , Matt O’Grady
