Surge in demand for tropical paradise

RAY WHITE Whitsunday has just booked a record month of sales, with many Melbourne buyers in lockdown dreaming of an idyllic tropical location which has inspired a run of “sight unseen” sales.

Mark Beale, whose team has just sold more than $21 million worth of stock in August, is fielding “dozens of calls” a day from southerners ready to travel to Airlie Beach as soon as the lockdown is over and the borders reopen.

“So many people are looking to buy a holiday home in Airlie Beach with the option of living here full time or working from home. It feels like everyone from down south wants to have a property here. So many of our buyers are working remotely anyway,” Mr Beale said.

“Next time there’s a pandemic they will escape the lockdown as things are pretty much normal compared to down south. Rentals are going nuts. Holiday letting inquiries are very strong in particular for the expenses homes at Mandalay and on the waterfront in Airlie Beach. "

Ray White Whitsunday Principal Mark Beale (left) with Hog's Breath Founder Don Algie (right) at Chesapeake Whitsunday.

Buyer Alan Thomas Galloway of the world famous Alabar horse breeding stud in Victoria, recently bought the stunning Chesapeake Whitsunday from Hog’s Breath Cafe founder Don Algie through Mr Beale’s Ray White Whitsunday office. The local legend opened his first Hog’s Breath restaurant in Airlie Beach in July 1989.

This off market sale is the highest sale price achieved in the Whitsunday mainland since 2018 when Mandalay sold for $14 million to a Sydney family.

Alan Galloway Jnr, pictured below on the right with his dad Alan Playford Galloway on left, fell in love with the architecturally designed Chesapeake when he saw it from the air. His dad was well known for breeding horses and he also owned the yacht Koomooloo which won the Sydney to Hobart in the late 1980s,

CAPTION: Alan Playford Galloway (left) with his son Alan Thomas Galloway (right).

“I was flying and I saw the mountain with Chesapeake on the top at 1000ft above sea level, it was like a beacon. I have fallen in love with Airlie Beach, it’s like a hidden gem, a slice of paradise,” Mr Galloway said.

The mountain was initially developed by New Zealander Don McDonald, a survivalist. The land was later bought by Don Algie who built the beautiful four bedroom house with 360 degrees to Shute Harbour and Hamilton Island and views from every room. There’s even two helicopter pads, and now Mr Galloway promises to get his helicopter licence in addition to his plane licence.

“My father Alan Playford Galloway passed away in February, he was almost 92, and he loved Airlie Beach. He and mum used to sail up to Airlie from their home in Coffs Harbour a few times a year," Mr Galloway said.

“It’s a magic location here. Johnny Depp stayed at the bottom of the mountain when they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s a very special part of the world and it’s been rebuilt after Cyclone Debbie but now the tourism industry has taken a knock as there’s no international tourists.”

“I am tipping this place is going to get busy soon. I used to think it was too remote but now that I fly it’s ideal. Many of my friends and family want to come up from Melbourne once they can.”

In 2006 Mark and Belinda Beale purchased the local Ray White office and have never looked back.

The Whitsundays region remains high on the shopping list of luxury local and interstate buyers.

“High end buyers love the anonymity of Airlie Beach. They can wear thongs, shorts and a singlet and no one cares. They can easily fly in with or without their friends, stay at their luxury property and go out on their boats for the day around the islands and reef,” Mr Beale said.