Article: Hideaway Waters mansions ...

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Hideaway Waters mansions bought by State Government for transport corridor are no longer needed

Hideaway Waters mansions bought by State Government for transport corridor are no longer needed

    * Peter Hall
    * From: The Courier-Mail
    * September 28, 2010 12:00AM

THIS is the millionaires' row the State Government bought for no reason.

Taxpayers are set to lose a fortune as more than $25 million worth of prime Sunshine Coast real estate is sold off after being deemed no longer necessary for a transport corridor.

The Courier-Mail can reveal that over the past 14 months – as Premier Anna Bligh pushed a fire sale of state assets – the Department of Transport and Main Roads quietly bought a dream portfolio of $1 million-plus homes at Hideaway Waters, near Kawana.

This was when the area was being considered as a cheaper and greener option for the planned rail and bus corridor between Caloundra and Maroochydore.

However, it was recently announced the Multi-Modal Transport Corridor would revert to a previously preferred route that involved a less controversial crossing of the Mooloolah River.

The department yesterday confirmed that the properties in Imara, Ewinga and Paraka Courts and Cootamundra Drive, bought under the Government's "hardship policy", would be sold at market value.

"This will happen over a period of time to ensure the housing market in the area is not negatively impacted," a spokesman said.

Until then, the properties are being rented, most at between $500 and $600 a week. The most expensive, 18 Imara Ct, bought for $1,314,000 in April this year, fetches $620 a week.

Residents, real estate agents and local politicians say it is "another Traveston", referring to the State Government's ill-fated purchase of 484 properties for the blocked Mary Valley dam project.

A leading agent said the Government had paid "top dollar" for the Hideaway Waters' homes and returning them to a softer market over the next 12 months would result in losses in the millions.

Another agent said the Government had paid more than $1.2 million for a property that the previous year had only attracted offers in "in the high 800s".

"The owners were very happy with the deals they achieved," another salesperson said. "They received well above market value and some of the valuations were based on 2008, which was a much stronger year."

Member for Buderim Steve Dixon said the Government's latest blunder would cost taxpayers dearly. He said the poorly thought-out plan also had "destroyed the fabric of the community".

"Everyone used to know each other and now because of the high number of rental properties, there are people who are there for a good time not a long time and I'm getting complaints from other residents."

A rail link to the Sunshine Coast has been talked about since the 1990s.

The Mooloolah River crossing is a key element and a DTMR spokesman said the route had received federal environmental approval on September 1.