Janet Williamson, of LJ Hooker Mackay Beaches, at a Bucasia property which went under contract just a week after being put on the market for $440,000.

FOUR-BEDROOM homes between $380,000 and $420,000 for sale in Mackay are pure gold on the market right now.

Homes in this price bracket are being snapped up in as little as a week after being listed.

This is against the overall Mackay market trend, which shows homes in the $500,000-$600,000-and-up bracket are taking longer to sell. It also defies a nationwide trend in which real estate sales have stalled in many other centres.

Home owners across the market are also preferring to hold onto their Mackay properties, with the option of gaining excellent rental returns until the market regains momentum.

Ray White Mackay Beaches director Tara Smyth said the town’s strong rental market was giving home owners choice.

“People have a price in their head on what they want to sell their houses for,” Ms Smyth said.

“At the moment we see people keeping good relationships with their real estate agents while they wait for market prices to pick back up. Because there is such a demand for rental properties most people can afford to hold on. As the property market picks up in towns outside of Mackay more families will move to the city.”

LJ Hooker Mackay director Des Besanko said the Mackay region was faring well compared to other property markets.

“We are in what we call an ‘even substance’ at the moment, but the Mackay area in general is doing very well,” Mr Besanko said.

“The rental market is so strong that people are able to hold onto their properties.

“Most of the transactions are happening with houses that are in the lower $400,000 to $420,000 mark. I have offices in Brisbane and there are people who cannot sell their house and the builders down there are screaming out for work.”

Mr Besanko said the houses which were “hot” on the property market were in the high $300,000 to low $400,000 price range.

“These houses are only staying on the market between 21 and 28 days, which is quite quick.”

Mr Besanko said there were far fewer transactions happening in the higher price range of houses between $500,000 to $600,000.

National house prices have fallen for the fifth consecutive quarter to $536,011, with national unit prices down 0.6% to $406,342.

Brisbane is the most affordable mainland city in which to purchase a house with a median price of $429,339, after growth deteriorated markedly over the quarter by 2.7%.

In the Mackay region, however, a regional economic profile prepared by the Regional Economic Development Corporation, shows there were 244 houses sold in the June quarter and the medium price was $413,500.

Mr Besanko said more people were buying new homes since the government introduced its $10,000 bonus to build houses.

•  244 homes sold in Mackay in the June quarter.
•  Average sale price for June quarter: $413,500.
•  Andergrove: 25 sales, average price $410,000.
•  Bucasia: 15 sales, average price $442,500.
•  Eimeo: 14 sales, average price $442,500.
•  Walkerston: 11 sales, average price $386,000.