Welcome to the Winter edition of our quarterly newsletter, and hasn’t it been cold! Even here in
Sunshine Beach where we generally enjoy mild, sunny winters with lovely clear skies, we have
shivered a little more this year than normal.
Market Review:
The big question you may be pondering is has the market cooled in line with the weather; well,
despite the proliferation of media reports of a softening market, and a definite reduced sense of
urgency from buyers, here at Sunshine Beach and Noosa, we are still receiving high volumes of
enquiry and securing excellent results for our sellers.
We have seen a slight drop in the volume of property sales across the Sunshine Coat region;
however, this market is still performing above average, and supply is still extremely tight, with less
than 1% of properties currently being offered to market, compared to 3-4% in a normal balanced
market. Gordon Macdonald of The Auction Group has advised he is currently experiencing a 60%
clearance rate at Auctions.
With spring just weeks away, we are expecting more stock to come onto the market – however, in the
traditionally busy selling season, there are generally more transactions also, so it may not make any
significant difference to the overall stock situation. Keeping all this in mind, we are in desperate need
for more stock in preparation of heightened demand leading into the warmer months.
Nationally in this last quarter, there have been drivers that have impacted consumer confidence –
interest rate rises, a change of government federally, rising inflation, wage pressure, general concern
about increases to the cost of living, plus the ongoing challenges of living with COVID19 which is still
very active in the community.
On a more positive note, unemployment is at almost record low levels, and with international borders
reopened, our migration program which flatlined over the past few years can now reboot and we
should see a rise in population growth, and desirable lifestyle regions such as the Sunshine Coast
with its glorious climate, stunning natural attributes, and relaxed way of life will always generate
strong demand.
New Staff:
We would like to welcome Wendy Cousins, Janine Searle, Jan Musgrave and Tessa Pettigrew to our
growing team! Wendy is Senior Property Manager and actually worked for us around 15 years ago,
and it’s wonderful to have her back. Janine is supporting Wendy as our permanent rental property
inspector. Her keen eye for detail is second to none. Jan is Weekend Reservations/Director of First
Impressions, replacing Wendy Green who retired; we are just loving having Jan on board, and so are
our clients. Tessa brings a Design Degree and property renovating experience (her latest project
being one of our beautiful holiday rental apartments) to her role as our holiday property inspector and
maintenance coordinator.
Fundraising:
Last month we again hosted Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea at Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving
Club and raised $6,000 for the Cancer Council. Our guest speaker Wendy Barnes shared a deeply
personal story with the attendees about her own battle with breast cancer – which was both moving
and inspiring.
