About Cooroy GOOGLE
MAP LOCATION | COOROY.com.au
July 7, 2007 | An Article by Michele Sternberg | Originally
published by the SUNSHINE
COAST DAILY
LINK TO : ORIGINAL
STORY
Cooroy, 25km from Noosa Heads, is a growing rural residential
area with hundreds of acreage homes dotted along the rolling countryside
No longer “Hicksville”, the pretty inland town of Cooroy
has attracted a different demographic, as city people look for
a quiet place to live with all the necessary amenities just on
their doorstep.
Cooroy, is a growing rural residential area with hundreds of acreage
homes dotted along the rolling countryside and facilities including
the railway station, hospital, high school, shopping centre, hotel,
RSL Club, post office, butter factory and a range of specialty
shops right in town. Murray Brown, the principal of hinternoosa.com.au,
has lived in the area for about 20 years and has seen the changes
first hand. He said Cooroy is the “heart of the Hinterland”.
"Cooroy has matured in recent decades and its strong community
identity within the Noosa Shire has seen it emerge as a flourishing
retail and development hub whilst retaining a gentle ambience
that continues to attract newcomers to this area. Whilst a lot
less common than they used to be, there are still genuine farms
in the area, the dairy cattle have all but disappeared however
there are still a good number of beef cattle grazing our lush
green countryside, the odd Ginger farm or more intense crops like
flowers or herbs for instance.
"Other entrepreneurial activities include healing centres
run from homes and a predictable number of B&Bs catering for
those visitors who wish to sample the lifestyle we enjoy.”
Murray said people come to the Noosa hinterland to soak up the
silence and enjoy the peace and quiet, and most residents do the
majority of their weekly shopping at Cooroy due to the ease of
parking and wide cross section of retail outlets and professional
services available in the village.
“The driving force behind our real estate economy, as is
elsewhere on the Coast would be baby boomers seeking out the lifestyle.
In their minds the grass is greener here. They can be ex-pats
returning from a career overseas, a large number of UK citizens
are also choosing to live here now along with the usual refugees
from suburbia and plenty of retiring farmers.
“Areas in highest demand are the ones within a 10 km radius
of Mt Coor?oy – like Sunrise Road, Eumundi Range Road, Cooroy
Mountain Road, Lonehand Lane and Dath Henderson Rd.”
He said recent sales for vacant land range between $300,000 for
a 6000m2 (1.5 acre) lot up to $1.85m for a 12ha (30 acre) parcel.
Most recent house sales vary in price from about $350,000 through
to $4.5m. Cooroy commercial opportunities range between 500k-$700k,
however are generally quite tightly held and disappear fairly
quickly.
“In the top end of this range there has been significant
upward movement in prices since the end of the real estate boom
in 2003. The local market remains strong and currently we have
been selling on average one property every 1-2 days for the past
month or so,” Murray said.
Housing prices have jumped an incredible 159.3% since 2002 –
rising from a median of $135,000 to $350,000.
According to REIQ figures, the most expensive street in town is
Maple Street for houses and out of town Nandroya Road takes the
title for acreage houses. The highest house sale for the 12 months
to the end of the March 2007 Quarter was $480,000 for a three-bedroom
home on a 906sq m block in Maple Street, which sold in September
2006. The highest acreage house sale for the same period was $1.15m
paid for a four-bedroom house on 9.01 hectares in Tree Frog Lane,
selling in January, 2007.
Cooroy is a creative village where visitors can immerse themselves
in refreshing country hospitality, enjoy farm fresh and organic
foods and discover fine handcrafted artworks in a lush fertile
environment.
“The Council’s master plan for Coorroy has identified
a green belt area which includes a number of precincts. It has
been suggested the area at the lower end of Maple Street is suited
to creative learning, an excellent form of tourism.
The site could include a hinterland library, town square, playground,
community shopfronts, conference and educational facilities, accommodation
for an artist in residence and possible new restaurant in the
“design for living centre”.
“So the future looks good for the Noosa hinterland in the
coming financial year, notwithstanding that Dam we have to have
and all the talk of amalgamation.”
According to the 2001 Census, there were 1983 people living in
the suburb with a median age of 41. Of all occupied private dwellings
65% were either fully owned or being purchased; 28% were being
rented.
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