Australian Property News

More Mary Valley properties go to auction

Posted on Monday, February 25 2013 at 4:33 PM

The Queensland Government will attempt to offload another eight Mary Valley acreage properties, west of the Sunshine Coast, at a unique auction next month.

The rural sites, ranging in size from one to 12.75 hectares, all have a vacant dwelling on them and were purchased by the previous Labor Government to make way for the later-scrapped Traveston Cross Dam project.

The latest round of sales follows an auction of eight properties in December, of which three were sold under the hammer and another four snapped up in the following week.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney says the Helmsman auction system would be used to sell the next round of eight holdings on March 23.

The Helmsman system, more commonly used to sell livestock, means all properties are put on the market simultaneously. Bids are recorded on a screen, enabling bidders to view progress for each property at all times.

Buyers can open bidding at the reserve indicated and bid on multiple properties. It means investors have a better chance of obtaining adjoining lots or several properties at once.

“More properties will be offered for sale in coming weeks, as part of the staged release of government-owned property,” Seeney says.

The government will also offer any existing tenants in government properties due to be sold the option to purchase the home they lease, he says.

“Eligible tenants will be able to purchase the property they lease through a soon-to-be-launched Tenant Purchase Scheme.”

The auction will take place at the Gympie Senior Citizens Centre.