Tom Offermann has been selling Noosa real estate for over 30 years and his name is now synonymous with Noosa property. Having grown up absorbing priceless business lessons and a love for property, Tom's daughter Rebekah Offermann says she has always wanted to work in Real Estate with her father, admiring his dedication and drive. 

After completing a business degree majoring in advertising and public relations, Rebekah worked for several international advertising companies, marketing predominately large property developments in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. She now brings this experience and honed marketing skills to the table to maximise sale results for her vendors.

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WILLIAMS MEDIA spoke to Rebekah about Noosa's ongoing draw for buyers and why she's feeling positive about the rest of 2020.

What are your predictions for Noosa’s luxury market in 2020 with the current restrictions and also moving forward?

We are approaching the second half of 2020 with anticipation and positivity. Local resorts and accommodation venues are reporting strong bookings from July onwards, with some almost full for the September school holidays. When the borders reopen, we expect a surge of tourists and buyers to once again fill our beaches, restaurants and open homes – and we look forward to welcoming them back. 
 

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What advice are you giving to vendors for the best outcome?

My advice to vendors is to approach their sale with gusto and the intention to get on – and off - the market as quickly as possible. By running a comprehensive campaign, we can be sure that we have found every buyer in the marketplace and have achieved the highest possible price for their property.  
 
What advice are you giving buyers?

Great Noosa property is currently in very limited supply – we are experiencing record low levels of properties on the market. Finding the right place may take you some time and you may experience competition to secure it. My advice is to take the time to arrange your finances so that when the right place does come up, you can act quickly and from a position of strength.

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The Noosa shire has experienced the highest capital grown in Queensland for 40 years, with an average of 9% pa. Being a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and bordered by National Park and waterways, Noosa has a finite amount of residential land and strict development regulations. This limits the supply and with the ever increasing demand for our sub-tropical climate and natural lifestyle, the balance of supply and demand has always supported price growth.
 
Some areas, such as the waterfront precinct known as Noosa Sound, have experienced 14% compound capital growth per annum since the 70’s, when it was originally reclaimed. Blocks of land were originally sold for $14,000 and the latest land value sale was a house sold for $9 million, which will soon be demolished to make way for a brand new house. 
  
What changes (if any) have you noticed in buyers and sellers since the COVID-19 situation?

There is a lot of cash shopping around in Noosa at the moment, and a lot of buyers in the marketplace looking for quality lifestyle properties. We’re working with some of the wealthiest people in the country who understand it may be a long time before they can or wish to travel overseas, so their focus has turned to Noosa as one of Australia’s favourite holiday playgrounds.  

Our biggest difficulty at the moment is that with such a large proportion of our buyers based in the southern states, they’re somewhat ‘waiting in the gates’ to be able to come here and view properties. 

While the majority of our sales during this period have been to local and southeast Queensland based buyers, we have sold properties ranging from $700,000 to $6.5 million without the buyer having ever stepped inside the property, purely based on photos and Facetime walkthroughs.

We have continued to set records in various complexes and locations during this time owing to the limited availability and demand.

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Our market has a high proportion of discretionary property – being investment and holiday properties. Our clients primarily hail from New South Wales, Victoria, South East Queensland and New Zealand, with a lot of expats as well. We have certainly experienced an increase in enquiry from expats reconsidering their lifestyle and location at this time. Some have already returned home from Asia or Europe and are needing residences now, others are still based overseas but planning to return as soon as they can.

Related reading:

Rainforest riverfront residence on Noosa Sound sold for $10m