Rural properties prices soar in Redlands, land worth millions

Ray White Rural Brisbane lifestyle and acreage specialist Rhondda Arentz said Redland residents did not recognise the potential that buyers from interstate have seen in the region and that many owners were holding out for developers to buy their properties, despite being marked under rural zones.

Ms Arentz said the Redlands offered its residents the best of both worlds, with rural and waterfront properties so close to Brisbane city not available anywhere else.

"Acreage is becoming like waterfront. It's a finite supply," she said.

''There remains a lovely balance of residential housing and rural property to ensure the region maintains the blend of lifestyles, with the rural properties providing for folks who keep livestock, horses, pets, and those desiring space for kids to grow up with a connection to the land."

She said buyers had been eyeing off Sheldon, Thornlands and Capalaba as wealth moved into the precincts, and properties at Redland Bay and Mount Cotton had pushed record prices in recent months.

Ms Arentz, who has worked in the property industry for almost 30 years, said the Redlands was filled with untapped potential, with large acreage land in rural zone areas worth multi-millions.

"There are many properties held by an ageing demographic, who have not got the resources or energy to maintain and improve their holdings, and these properties are so much in demand from families who have the ability to make these properties beautiful."

"There is very much an expectation by land owners in the region that eventually all the land will be rezoned for housing, which is quite possible at some stage. However, this could be 20 years away, if ever."

She said developers had acquired enough land to satisfy redevelopment in the Redlands for the foreseeable future.

"Our recent sale of Bailey's Ridge to the Koala Fund is also an example of how the market sees the quality of undeveloped land in the region," Ms Arentz said.

"With the strength of the market today, these properties may be worth more to lifestyle buyers than to the developers who may never be able to achieve the rezonings they have promised."

Ms Arentz said several Redland rural property owners had been led into a trap by developers to hold onto their properties until their land could be re-zoned. However, Redland City Council's 2018 City Plan will not be reviewed until 2028.

"Those selling can realise their objectives within a few months, compared to the many years of "hope" in waiting for zonings to change, followed by terrible disappointment when let down," she said.

"Rural property owners in various areas of the Redlands have been groomed to believe that their properties are more valuable to developers, even though their properties are not appropriately zoned and may never be rezoned for subdivision.

"While waiting for the uncertain windfall, the properties still need work and as owners become elderly, this becomes very difficult."