$1.85 million reasons to buy into Cotton Tree

There’s no other way to describe it, the auction of 703/61-65 Sixth Avenue was a sight to be seen! The overwhelming turn out filled the apartment floor and spilled out onto the balcony, as buyers anxiously waited for bidding to kick off. With beach views stretching from Maroochydore Beach to Point Cartwright, a cool $1.85 million was a small price to pay for the value of the highly sought after suburb of Cotton Tree. We sat down with Ray White Maroochydore Real Estate Agent Reuben Park to hear more about the apartment that won the title of the residential block’s record selling unit.

With only standing room left in the apartment, the crowded auction kicked off at $1.2 million dollars, before speeding up with heated offers. Once the highest bidder reached their maximum offer, it was time for negotiations to begin. A half an hour of careful negotiations later, both parties were determined to reach an agreement, and the apartment sold under the hammer at a record breaking price of $1.85 million, $600,000 above the starting bid.

“The unit went for a million dollars more than the most recently sold apartment in the block… and a million dollars more than the owners had paid themselves just two years earlier!” says Reuben.

Although impressed by these figures, Reuben certainly wasn’t surprised. With the growth pace of Sunshine Coast’s property market being at its highest seen since 2003, any local owner would be thrilled at the fantastic value of current Sunshine Coast properties.

What may be surprising to some however, was the lack of interstate buyers showing up with deep pockets. In-fact, the 7 registered bidders all came from the sunshine state! As a local area expert, we asked Reuben to summarise why local Queensland buyers are becoming so eager to buy into the ‘Cotton Tree’ pocket.

“Cotton Tree is a very well established suburb with most of the buildings 30 plus years old, so when a newer apartment in the area comes to market, there is a considerable attraction for buyers. In addition to this, buyers also recognise that Cotton Tree has an extremely limited amount of future development potential, so the ability to get into the Cotton Tree market becomes more and more limited” says Reuben. 

“We used all of the traditional online platforms, while also focusing on social media remarketing and clever targeting. There are few units that are privileged with a really beautiful view over Maroochydore Surf Club, Maroochydore Beach, and all the way down to Point Cartwright, this meant that the view and location were driving factors, and we wanted to make sure that this was being communicated to interested parties across a variety of digital touchpoints” says Reuben. 

As a real estate agent that values vendor relationships above anything else, Reuben was honoured to continue working with the sellers, who have been long term clients. 

“The sellers are local business owners who have worked with our business for quite a few years, so it was an easy choice for them to work with us again! They had auctioned another apartment with us only a few months earlier which went extremely well, so they knew that when they became serious about the sale of their apartment, that they would put it on the market and go to auction.” says Reuben. 

Selling to local buyers who have lived in South East Queensland for quite some time, the new owners have found exactly what they were looking for. Looking forward to creating lasting memories across the next few decades, the new owners will enjoy the lifestyle and events that the Cotton Tree community has to offer. 

“For me, this sale reinforces once again that investing in a strong marketing campaign is without a doubt worthwhile to the sale. Not only this, but it also shows that although you may be expecting the interstate buyers to be the ones with the deepest pockets, the locals have a great appreciation of the value that small beachside suburbs have to offer” says Reuben. If you’re looking for a Sunshine Coast real estate agent who invests his time in long term client relationships, contact Reuben Park for a chat. 

Written by Elizabeth Brown from Smith Madden Creative Agency