Russell Island in south-east Queensland leads list of least resilient suburbs: RP Data

The Southern Moreton Bay island of Russell Island has ranked as Australia’s least resilient and poorest-performing suburb, with vendors having to discount their properties by an average of almost 30% and wait more than four months (127 days) to sell.

The figures are based on RP Data sales information for the 12 months to June, compiled for The Australian Financial Review.

The island, about 50 minutes from Brisbane and connected to the mainland by ferry and vehicle barge, has an oversupply of cheap residential land for sale, with some blocks priced as low as $25,000.

The list of least resilient suburbs includes the inner-Brisbane suburb of Hamilton on the Brisbane River, where properties take around three months to sell, with an average discount of 20%.

The list also includes a number of Perth coastal suburbs, including Dalkeith, which has a median price in excess of $2.6 million, and Swanbourne and Watermans Bay, which both have median prices in excess of $1 million.

The only NSW entrant is Copacabana in Gosford on the central coast, with prices discounted 18.5% on average and taking more than five months to sell.

Australia’s 12 least resilient suburbs

Source: RP Data/Australian Financial Review

One of the most recent sales was this distinctive, mock-tudor two-bedroom house (pictured below), which took 91 days to sell and sold at a 19% discount to its original asking price.  It sold for $160,000 through Ray White Russell Island in June, having been listed at $198,000 in April.

Other recent property sales include a four-bedroom house on Aquarius Road that sold for $380,000 in April, having been on the market since September 2009 at an asking price of $450,000 – a discount of 15%, with the listing held by three different estate agents.