No-reserve auction for waterfront Airlie Beach bungalow kicks off with "courageous" $1 bid
A "courageous" opening bid of $1 began proceedings at the no-reserve auction of 13 Palm Bay Street, Airlie Beach, last night.
But things didn’t stop there: the 20 registered bidders quickly edged the price up to $120,000 for the beachfront bungalow which is on Long Island close to the resort’s pools and facilities.
Auctioneer Steve Marks, of Ray White Witsundays, said the selling amount was "well above expectations", recalling that a similar property sold for about $60,000 recently and that another is on the market for $80,000.
The no-reserve auction, held at the Coral Sea resort, is said to be the first ever at the tropical Queensland holiday spot.
"Those competing drove the price up," Marks said of the night. A total of 50 bids - starting with the $1 opener – jumped to $5,000 and then went all the way to $100,000 in $5,000 increments, and then up to $120,000 in $1,000 increments.
Registered bidders for the one bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow came from every state: "We were taking calls from Perth one minute; Darwin and Sydney the next – it was a hectic night but we had great results," Marks said. "We had nine properties on the card, we sold two prior to sale, two under the hammer and we have one going to contract today."
The successful buyer is a local business owner who did not want to be named.
Marks is full of enthusiasm for Ailey Beach, a town of around 8,000 people 1,123 kilometres north of Brisbane and 151 kilometres north of Mackay. "There’s money being poured into infrastructure here, such as the port, the main street and the golf course, and this is having an effect on real estate.
"The market is the most buoyant it’s been over the past three months because there’s good value for money here. I’ve sold 14 properties in the last six months with a median of $350,000. The latest was a two-bedroom ocean-view apartment going for around that price with a permanent rent of $460 a week. Where else can you get that?"
Marks – who’s been with Ray White Witsundays for seven years and a local resident for 19 – said the sales team had sold 27 properties in the past month "with 13 sold this month already". So things are looking up.