Eager buyers trying to get a foot on the property ladder could snap up a tropical island for the price of a one-bedroom apartment in Sydney, a real estate agent says.<\/p>\n
Private islands are no longer just a privilege for billionaires like Richard Branson as buyers look beyond the mainland to get more bang for their buck.<\/p>\n
\"There is a greater interest,\" Richard Vanhoff, a real estate agent specialising in islands, said.<\/p>\n
\"With the pricing of southern states, they are paying big money for houses and they still don't get the waterfront.<\/p>\n
\"When you are buying an island, you get all the waterfront.\"<\/p>\n
Around Australia, private Islands have been snapped up in the past 12 months for as little as $320,000.<\/p>\n
Queenslander Craig Becky was searching for an investment property last year when he found an offer too good to pass up.<\/p>\n
\"I actually saw it on a morning TV show and it was touted as the cheapest island in Australia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I thought, 'Oh it's in my price range.'<\/p>\n
\"I just never had in my mind I would buy an island one day, but when it came up, I thought, 'I just have to have it.'<\/p>\n
\"Life is short.\"<\/p>\n
Mr Becky is now the proud owner of Worthington Island, off the coast of Gladstone, which he bought for \"well under\" the asking price of $385,000.<\/p>\n
The 27-hectare island has an off-the grid beach shack and a private airstrip.<\/p>\n
\"It's not what everybody thinks of palm trees and white sand,\" Mr Becky said.<\/p>\n
\"it's more mangroves and crabbing and fishing. It's like a big bush block with a shack on it.<\/p>\n
\"It's really relaxing have a fish, have a nap, go for a walk around.<\/p>\n
\"It's beautiful, I love it.\"<\/p>\n
But the lifestyle does not come without challenges Mr Becky doesn't get much in return for his rates, with no-one to pick up the weekly rubbish and access to the island is at the mercy of the tides.<\/p>\n
But for this island owner, the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences.<\/p>\n
\"Everything is on island time,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The thing I love is that there are no neighbours.\"<\/p>\n
The sale of islands is consistent with buying patterns since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).<\/p>\n
\"What we are seeing is that many people are wanting to buy regional properties because of the lifestyle,\" REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said.<\/p>\n
But she said it was difficult to gauge whetherthe obsession with space would remain when things got backto normal.<\/p>\n
\"Before you invest, I think you really need to think about the practicalities of it,\" Ms Mercorella said.<\/p>\n
\"In some cases the island can be quite remote and difficult and expensive to get to.<\/p>\n
\"It's not something you would buy for the purpose of flipping you would want to be buying it with the view to perhaps holding onto it for the longer term.\"<\/p>\n
Judging by available listings, an island lifestyle can be achieved for any price.<\/p>\n
Poole Island in the Whitsundays has a million dollar price tag, while Temple Island off the coast of Mackay is on the market for $1.7m.<\/p>\n
Or, if you've got a spare $15m, perhaps Marble Island off the central Queensland coast is more to your liking.<\/p>\n
Mr Vanhoff said the lengthy lockdowns in southern states over the past two years had made the freedom of island living hugely appealing.<\/p>\n
\"People are sitting back in those areas that are in restrictions thinking about life and thinking about their future,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I guess islands come to mind they go, 'Oh, wouldn't we like to do that, that would be great, we wouldn't have to put up with this.'<\/p>\n
\"I get the odd call when there is a big lotto being presented.<\/p>\n
\"They'll ring me and get all the information out of me and get all excitedbecause their clairvoyant told them they would win and then they don't win.<\/p>\n
\"But it's all good fun.\"<\/p>\n
Ms Mercorella said while private islands were being marketed more regularly, their sale remained unusual.<\/p>\n
\"It's probably a fantasy that many of us have,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"But I think for the majority of us, practicality and reality probably sets in and prevents us from making the choice.\"<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
See more here: <\/p>\n
Private islands for sale in Queensland going cheap, but lifestyle has ...<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Eager buyers trying to get a foot on the property ladder could snap up a tropical island for the price of a one-bedroom apartment in Sydney, a real estate agent says. Private islands are no longer just a privilege for billionaires like Richard Branson as buyers look beyond the mainland to get more bang for their buck. \"There is a greater interest,\" Richard Vanhoff, a real estate agent specialising in islands, said. Continue reading