Community & Business
8 April, 2025
Real estate in demand
A SHORTAGE of housing stock is keeping prices high and properties selling fast across the Tablelands region.
Mareeba real estate agent Joe Torrisi said the market had been “inconsistent” for some time, but that “generally, house prices in the Mareeba area are still holding strong, if not increasing slightly”.
He said the most popular properties being snapped up were lifestyle residential properties, “from the quarter acre right through to the 5-acre - they’re very popular, and acreage goes very quickly”.
He said driving the prices and sales was the lack of stock, which had been an issue for some time.
Mr Torrisi said that at the beginning of this year he had “roughly 20 properties” but this was now down to about 4-5.
“They turn around fast. Some of them are not even going to market, and this will continue while demand is outstripping supply,” he said.
Mr Torrisi welcomed the cut in interest rates, saying it would “make a big difference” in market confidence and sales activity.
“It has to,” he said.
But Mareeba property developer Sam Girgenti said it was unlikely interest rate cuts or market swings would affect the shire’s real estate sector.
“It doesn’t matter what the rest of the world does, Mareeba is always stable, just look at the history,” he said.
However, in terms of land availability, the situation was tight. He said current blocks within the five estates the company sells exclusively had reduced from 100 down to 20.
The estates include The Edge, Ray Road, Prestige Gardens, Wylandra Estate and Country Road Estate. The company also develops blocks across Amaroo and Barry estates.
“It’s very hard to produce land at the moment,” he said.
“It’s largely due to the constraints set by council. The conditions imposed on developers are not always easier done than said. They’re not always commercially sensible.
“This then slows up the process and increases property prices.”
Over in the southern Tablelands, real estate agent Shellie Nightingale said properties continued to be sold in an average of 32 days, with lifestyle properties still the most sought-after and fetching good prices.
The price of a quality residential home had also increased by up to $100,000 in the past year.
Such is the flurry of activity, Ms Nightingale has had more than 11 contracts signed from the beginning of the year to mid-February.
“The market is steady – it’s not frantic buying anymore, clients are taking time to find the right one,” she said.
“We have more buyers than we have stock – everyone wants to move here.
“Townsville and Cairns are our biggest buyers I believe – people are moving back to here or wanting to retire here.”
Ms Nightingale said buyers were keen on lifestyle blocks or quality, new residential rather than renovating their old home.
“Rural has eased off a bit over the last year because of the cattle prices but I feel it’s starting to pick up again.”
She said some were seeking to buy in this region because they were being pushed out of the market in large urban areas like Brisbane due to the
high prices.
