Went for a tour of acreage properties to the west of Brisbane...

Went for a tour of acreage properties to the west of Brisbane (Moggill, Anstead, Pullenvale, Brookfield etc.) last November. Had been watching prices over there for a few months, and very casually for years.

17 acres, cleared land, 2 dams (one spring fed), bore (no house): Feb 2010 $1.8m. Aug 2010 $1.5m. Nov 2010 $1.2m, Feb 2011 $950k "must be sold by end of Feb".

Every single property that I inspected, apart from a couple of new listings, had failed at auction or had one or two contracts fall through, or both: or had "just" been reduced in price as they had had no offers. Looking at acreage with house(s) in the $1.3m to $2.2m range.

One house in particular, beautiful, colonial style, 11ft high ceilings, two fireplaces, two floor safes, 5 bedrooms, quality fittings throughout, wine cellar, tennis court, pool, separate guest accommodation with enormous media room and wet bar, 5.5 acres, sheds, etc. etc. - rebuild cost around $2.7m (inc. land), "really want $1.8m, but you could try them with $1.7m". Still on mkt three months later.

Sales at auction is a useless number. You need to know how many auctions took place in total, so you can judge the sales:failed sales ratio.