Redland Bay sunset.
In many parts of the world, owning your own slice of island life is little more than a pipedream for millions of people. But buying a property on a Queensland island is not only achievable it's one of the most affordable options around.
While some of the world's mega-rich have actually bought their own islands - Richard Branson bought Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in the late 70s for a relatively modest $400,000 and transformed it into a resort that now rents for a not-so-modest $50,000 a day - for most of us mere mortals even winning Lotto these days wouldn't finance such a salubrious purchase.
It's hard to believe, but property on the Brisbane southern bay islands of Macleay, Lamb, Russell - and to a lesser extent - Karragarra islands have median house prices not seen on the mainland for years.
- See all island property listings
- See Macleay Island property listings
- See Lamb Island property listings
- See Russell Island property listings
- See Karragarra Island property listings
Located directly across from the more well-known Macleay Island is Karragarra Island. The island is the closest port to Redland Bay and measures only 0.5km wide and 2.5 km long. Given its size and the fact that there are no shops on the island, only about 124 people call the island home.
Housing on the southern bay islands are subject to building height restrictions of 8.5 metres - unless you apply to build outside the development control plan - and all have septic tanks. The islands are also home to a collection of sandflies, mosquitoes and midges, which locals say are just part and parcel of island life and can be dealt with quite efficiently with a bottle of RID at sundown.
Biting creatures aside, land prices on the islands have increased staggeringly over the last few years with some areas up by 500 per cent over five years.
Macleay is the most heavily populated of all the bay islands, but spend a few hours driving around and you wouldn't know it. Along with all a range of community infrastructure - including a bowls club with water views to die for and a police station (perhaps to keep an eye on all those boisterous bowlers) - Macleay has a mix of housing styles that complement the natural beauty of the island and are not shoved into all available land cheek by jowl.
The smaller Lamb Island is located between Macleay and Russell and is home to about 360 people. The area is popular with families and owner occupiers with only a handful of properties on the island dedicated holiday homes. Similar to the other Brisbane islands, house prices on Lamb are very reasonable and unlike Karragarra, Lamb has a local store that also sells fuel.
Russell Island is perhaps the best known of all Brisbane's southern bay islands but unfortunately not for the right reasons.
In the 1970s, the island was the site of infamous scams where blocks of land that were not what they appeared - some were even underwater at high tide - were sold by unscrupulous vendors. The island did not have a local authority to enforce planning regulations at the time, thus making it easier for the scams to take place.
And while that was more than 30 years ago, unfortunately the fiasco is still regularly associated with the island.
"It's an unfortunate blemish as Russell, and for that matter all of the southern bay islands have a charm and style that's unique," REIQ Moreton Bay zone chair Peter Barrett says.
"Locals describe living on the island as quiet and laidback. And it's that laidback attitude, along with excellent affordability that has caused a renaissance in the real estate fortunes of the islands."
Now home to some 2,000 people, similar to Macleay, Russell Island has all the mod cons, including a police station and primary school. A quick Internet search finds dozens of houses on generous blocks for sale in the low $200,000 price bracket, while blocks of land can still be found on the island for a paltry $50,000.
And given that land on the island has increased in price by some 500 per cent in five years, one can hardly guess what a slice of island life will cost in the years to come.
By Nicola McDougall, Queensland Property & Lifestyle.
