Palm cove, Trinity Beach or Clifton Beach

Searching for a ppor after moving to Cairns a few months ago. Looking at above suburbs for a 4 x 2 with a budget up to $700k,

Anyone on the forum have experience and a feel for the current market up here?

 

I believe @The Grinch lives up that way. Has good insights

 

All 3 suburbs mentioned are great for the lifestyle, palm cove is a tad over priced and gets busier with tourists during peak. As you may already know there are pathways and the beach connects all 3 so in terms of lifestyle drivers cliffton beach gets my pick although all 3 are sound and safe areas.

Insurance rates are going to be a ton higher than if you bought outside of those suburbs. Freshwater, Brinsmead,redlynch,stratford and kamerunga are all within a 10 minute drive to the beach and have lower insurances.

I believe we haven't seen the bottom of the market in fact I'm fairly confident prices are going to come down alot especially towards the top end of the market which your budget covers. Make sure you negotiate strong on the way in as I dare say anyone selling in that range will be eager to sell so go in low.

Kewarra beach may also be on your radar.

Flood maps and data
Check your floodzones before buying also.

At the end of the day its a PPOR so buy a house in a location that you feel will suit whatever your needs are.

Growth won't be amazing in that end as after covid the top of the market is going to take the longest to recover.

Goodluck! Feel free to inbox me if you need any help.

 

That's great info, thanks for taking the time to reply.
We are currently renting in Kewarra Beach near Paradise Palms, and whilst it's a nice little gated street and house suits us, I'm concerned about the future redevlopment of the golf course.
I agree in regards to Palm cove being a a little overpriced. I'm also of the belief that house prices will drop, but when and just how far is the question. Not seeing too much in the way if price reductions currently..

 

Since january the median for cairns has fallen from $488,500 to $447,000, until tourism comes back I fear this trend isn't going to improve. What I have heard from conveyancors, brokers and real estates is that majority of the purchases coming through are from cashed up investors selling off stocks to invest in a "safer" investment tool like property although most of these tend to be from down south (Sydney, Melbourne). The others are first home buyers using the 5% deposit scheme.

Most of the listings have been up awhile, offer 15% - 20% less, if you had feelers on a few or multiple offers I'm confident you would get a bite problem is we have no idea how deep the rabbit hole can go with covid just yet.

 

Thanks again.

That's what I was thinking between 10- 20% off the asking price. Closer to 20% gives a buffer if prices do drop.

Seems a few have gone under offer in the past few weeks, and a few with asking prices very optimistic.

 

Spoke with a local agent this week. Said lots of sales falling over for various reasons including finance, building inspections etc.
House prices in Palm cove and Clifton beach still seem relatively unchanged and our price bracket of 650/700k still doesn't look to buy a good value quality home, maybe our expectations are too high?

 

What are your expectations? 650-700 can get you a great place up here.

regardless I wouldn’t be in any rush prices aren’t going to shoot up. Can wait to see how the rising unemployment over the coming weeks/months affects prices.

palm cove/Clifton are pricier than other areas on the north so you will get a little less bang for your buck

 

4 x 2 with decent size bedrooms and some quality fittings?? The handful we have viewed have small bedrooms or small living rooms.
Still getting a feel for the market here...

 

That end of the market may seem unchanged because there aren't as many buyers in that range during covid. In that price range and those suburbs there have been 4 sales since jan 2020.

In the 4 months leading up to covid there were 11 slaes. Prices will appear as unchanged when no offers are being made. Remember the price a REA sets on a listing is not the true value of a property.

 

Thats true, Since we arrived we have only seen a handful in our price range go under offer.
But got to be honest, some of the properties look to be 100k plus overpriced!

 

Have you considered other suburbs? I personal prefer Park Ridge, Brinsmead, Freshwater and Redlynch. Much better value, plenty of stock on the market, some of which has been listed for 3-6 months with some asking prices down 10% at least since December/January.

 

This ^^

I know in the 700k range for redlynch and freshwater you will live like a king. The prices in that range for freshwater and redlynch particularly 700k range are absolute dreamy. You will also be paying 3-5k less a year insurance.

You also have a close proximity to everywhere (besides the south but who really needs to head out there).

 

Yeah in terms of bang for your buck I feel as though the beach suburbs you mentioned don't get as jaw dropping until they reach the 900k mark. Some nice houses of course but for e.g these properties are in solid safe suburbs with great proximity for less.

https://m.realestate.com.au/property-acreage+semi-rural-qld-redlynch-131632646

https://m.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-brinsmead-133149698

https://m.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-freshwater-130861734

https://m.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-stratford-133223134

Definetly get a ton of bang for your buck.

 

Might be worth shopping around for a few quotes as when I lived in my red flood zone property on the beaches it was around $2.4k a year (included flood coverage and water damage) for house and contents. Now it's short term let insurance isn't that much more.

 

Agree. My landlord insurance for an IP in trinity beach is only $2.5k

 

Definitely food for thought..

Will expand our search into those areas and see what we can get. Redlynch property on a big block is appealing

 

From what I've been told they only stay cheap until a cyclone hits

 

I’ve got friends, family, work colleagues who have lived on the beaches a long time. Most are people who just can’t afford paying $5k extra in insurance a year. That’s a massive amount. It’s just not true. If there’s a loss event for insurers sure premiums will go up, but never of that magnitude and these suburbs won’t increase in isolation. The whole city gets whacked. It’s a red herring as far as selecting a suburb to live in

 

Good info, I learn something new everyday