Home values in sunny, sandy suburb are flying

BEACHSIDE suburb Dodges Ferry is not just hot, it is “hot, hot, hot!”

In the latest data from realestate.com.au, Dodges Ferry blasted its way towards the top of greater Hobart’s growth charts with values in the area absolutely flying.

REA revealed a gigantic annual change (29.4 per cent) in the area’s median price across 51 sales.

At times last year it was also one of Tassie’s fastest selling suburbs with days on market as low as a fortnight.

When Fall Real Estate’s Jason Andrikonis took a fixer upper in Carlton Beach Road, Dodges Ferry to market in mid-December, the original plan was for an early January auction.

The modest property — described as perfect for a home renovation enthusiast — was available for only three days before a cash buyer made the vendor an offer that was spot on the money.

Auction cancelled. Sale done and dusted.

Jason said it was a 20-something Hobart buyer with a tradie background that had snapped up the property.

“It was a savvy buy; he has got his foot on the property ladder now,” he said.

Jason described the house as one that “needs everything”.

“New plumbing, new wiring, it has asbestos in it … it had been abandoned for many years,” he said.

“Amazingly, after it was sold, we still had people ringing up wanting to buy it.

“I expected it to draw a lot of interest — Dodges Ferry listings have people turning up in droves — but maybe I didn’t see it just going ‘bang’ and attracting a decent offer way before the auction.”

Jason said this type of transaction in Dodges Ferry had become a familiar sight.

“While this one was a quick sale, I sold the home next door a few months earlier and it only lasted seven hours on the market,” he said.

Jason said seeing nearly 30 per cent growth in the suburb — and similar in nearby Primrose Sands, Carlton and Lewisham — was an incredible result.

While he can’t be sure, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was in part due to COVID-19.

“Dodges Ferry is a beautiful coastal beachside area, a fantastic place to live,” he said.

“Following COVID, some people have realised that they don’t need to live in the city or work in the city after working from home.”

In another example of the buoyancy of the market, Raine & Horne’s Danny Boon sold a waterfront home in Jetty Road for $1m in November.

That’s a sum more than double the suburb’s median of $440,000 and, per Real Estate Institute of Tasmania figures, the suburb’s second highest price on record.