Mareeba Market Report 2018

Market Wrap

With Christmas fast approaching, we look back on another great year in the Mareeba Real Estate market.

While most southern reporters and the media would have you believe that the market is not performing very well, the Mareeba market has stayed firm, just as it has for the previous 4 years, where we have seen good sales numbers, topped only by the boom years in 2003 to 2007.

We are looking to close out this year with really good sales numbers again, just like last year, with www.realestate.com.au reporting 189 sales in Mareeba alone for 2018 so far, which doesn’t include any off-market sales, or any sales in the Mutchilba, Dimbulah and Biboohra areas either!

Although the Titles Office is still releasing the sales data for 2018 and the following data set can be up to 3 months behind, below we can see a chart which shows the houses SOLD in Mareeba over the last two decades.

Over the last three years, Mareeba has seen the median sale price increase from around $300,000 to in between $310,000-$320,000 (blue line). After all sales are reported, we think the total house sales this year will be very close to the numbers we saw last year, if not more, which were exceeded only by the numbers seen between 2003 and 2007.

So, in other words, these are the best sales numbers we have seen since the GFC, and the highest median price for a house that Mareeba has ever seen!

The Breakdown

A quick snapshot of the price segmentation over the last 12 months in Mareeba saw around 44% of residential house sales fall under the $300,000 mark. These were mostly the timber homes, and older and smaller masonry block and brick homes usually with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom.

We then saw about 24% of all sales falling between $300,000 and $400,000 which were typically the larger older homes, and the entry level newer homes in some of the newer estates usually with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This figure is slightly down on the 2017 number of sales in this price bracket.

Approximately 22% of the sales in the last 12 months fell into in the $400,000 – $500,000 bracket. Which is typically made up of the larger 4+ bedroom and 2+ bathroom homes with slightly higher level of finishes and extras including gardens, fencing and sheds for example.

This number is up on the 2017 figure and suggests that that the decrease in the price bracket below this one and the increase in this bracket are both due to the same thing.

We have noticed that the amount of sales which were falling just below $400,000 are now starting to fall just above $400,000 and there are more of them.

This move could be attributed to a number of things, but we feel that market confidence is one of the main factors, typically in the newer estates.

The remaining sales all fell above the $500,000 mark, around 10% of sales in fact. These were typically the lifestyle properties, as well as the higher quality larger homes on larger allotments with a full range of inclusions.

Highest Sale

The highest sale for a residential property in Mareeba for the year to date was a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house on 5,661 m2 over in Cobra Point Estate on Hoolahan Drive – SOLD for $610,000.

The property spent some time on the market with multiple agents but was ultimately sold this year by
us here at Central Realty Mareeba with one of our shortest contracts to date, in just over 2 weeks.

Lowest Sale

The lowest sale for a residential property in Mareeba for the year was a smaller 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom fibro home which was sold by a mortgagee for just $140,200. Once the mortgagee took possession, the property spent very little time on the market and was purchased by a keen investor who is surely reaping the rewards now!

Land and Construction

With the data available to date, this year has seen the median price for a block of land increase slightly as well, so similarly to the residential house and lifestyle property market, although we aren’t seeing any records broken, we are seeing the best figures for land sales since the GFC as well.

All you have to do is take a drive through the newer estates and you’ll see that there are now no vacant blocks in Marinelli Estate, almost no vacant blocks available in Sunbird Park, Kenneally Estate is also filling up quickly, and Barry Estate has also enjoyed some new houses popping up in the recent months as well.

The stalwart that is Amaroo Park also continues to release new stages as expected, with each new release garnering the interest of first home buyers still capitalising on the First Home Owners Grant, and builders and investors producing and selling spec homes, as well as downsizers and upgraders choosing the burgeoning Estate for their new homes.

Agency Market Share

Central Realty Mareeba is an award-winning agency with a proven track record of achieving great results for all of our clients. With a highly contested mid-year period, the top three agencies in town were all doing their best and the end of year rush with people looking to get into their homes before the festive season proved to be the difference, and we are very proud to round out the year on top once again.

Looking Forward

At Central Realty, we experienced that the market had a bit of a quiet period in around the school holidays in April of 2018, but apart from that, the market has been bubbling away with plenty of activity throughout the year. In fact, I think we can safely say that we have seen good activity in the market for the last 4 or 5 years and 2018 has been no different, so we are positive that 2019 will continue that trend.

One of the main reasons we think the increase in activity will continue well into 2019 is that we have noticed that the stock levels, or the number of properties on the market in 2018 has reduced again, and even though some people are already in holiday mode, there are still plenty of buyer enquiries coming in on a daily basis.

So, give us a call!

If you are considering your next move, and have a property that you are thinking of selling, then now is
the time to get it ready for the market. Don’t wait for everyone else to be ready and flood the market again,
get your property online now and beat the rush! With the reduced stock levels and people having time
to look around while they have time off work, the break this year should prove to be a good one!