The report: Casey Languillon of Harcourts Prestige on ultra-prime scarcity in Noosa and where buyers are really heading
Interview by Hamish McDougall
Situated on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, Noosa is a coastal resort town that has always held mystique for Australian money, but the past four years have fundamentally rewritten the market. What was once a seasonal second-home refuge has become a full-time destination. These recent years have redrawn the map of which streets matter most and created a hunger that the region simply cannot satisfy. Prestige agent Casey Languillon, who grew up in Noosa and returned after two decades in Bondi, has watched this shift up close. She shares what’s really happening on the ground, where buyers are heading, and why the calm we’re seeing right now might be the moment to move.
This is part of a series of interviews for our Noosa ultra-prime feature—go further with the Noosa ultra-prime market report.
From second homes to primary residences
Before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Noosa was predominantly made up of locals and the owners with second homes up here. Then, when the GFC hit, it was probably the hardest patch we’ve been through because we, for the first time, saw a downturn in Noosa. Everyone was getting rid of their toys, their boats, their second cars, the luxury vehicles, their second homes.
But since Covid, people have relocated here, and they’ve redesigned their lives to live in Noosa while still working in the corporate field. Some people still work in cities like Brisbane for three days a week, while their family remains in Noosa, and they shuttle back and forth. Some people are working purely from home; they didn’t go back to work [in the cities] after Covid.
A lot of people are designing entrepreneurial businesses and running a lot of industry from here. So now, when you come to Noosa any time of the year, it’s always busy. There’s no downtime because people live here full-time now. It’s not like years ago when it was just a beach, a local community, plus holidaymakers. Now it’s a proper, little, thriving town.
Peregian Beach remains highly sought-after for its laid-back village atmosphere, patrolled surf beaches, and boutique shopping square, all just a 20-minute drive south of Noosa. Top: Artist’s rendering of a unique lot for sale at Picture Point Crescent, Noosa Heads, with breathtaking views of the ocean, river and hinterland from a 12-metre point. (Photos courtesy of Casey Languillon)
Also, with everything happening globally, Australia’s being labelled as a safe haven. I have Australian clients based in the Middle East already reaching out, saying they want to come home sooner than planned.
We’re definitely getting the shift, and we [Noosa] are a much smaller regional market. People come expecting it’s like Melbourne or Sydney, like “I’ll have so much to see and I’ll have my pick of the crop”. But it’s not like that. We don’t have enough supply to service the demand. So I guess that always protects us like a little bubble in the market; it is quite exclusive.
Where buyers are really heading
We’ve seen 40 per cent growth in a year because We’ve got an older part of Noosa, where the community is ageing out. Lake Weyba Drive is a good example of that. It’s one little street that disappears where the old airport is, with the lake at the front and National Park at the back.
The older homes were bowled over, and beautiful big homes—architectural builds by prominent designers like Chris and Paul Clout—were put up. And that street as become all of a sudden desirable with locals. We had people moving from long-prized addresses in Noosa like Witta Circle and Noosa Sound, because they’ve gotten too busy.
Locals just don’t want to have to deal with the congestion anymore. So they’re moving to areas that probably have easier access to the wider region, but they still want to be in town. And a lot of long-time locals aren’t used to being on top of each other. If you’ve come back from the city, you’re more tolerant of that kind of density, but those who have lived here a while aren’t comfortable with it. And obviously, pricing is just phenomenal. Now, the entry-level price for land is a million dollars even at the lower end of the market.
Artist’s rendering of the “Skyfall” house, a sprawling Chris Clout-envisioned land parcel for sale at Picture Point Crescent, Noosa Heads. (Photo courtesy of Casey Languillon)
Banking on breathing room
There will always be a place for the hinterland, because you can never go wrong with land or water. It definitely [attracts] a different buyer. You can’t just walk out and grab a coffee or lunch. But if you want space and calm, and also be able to service more people, have a larger home, and have more guests stay over, the hinterland affords you more space.
There’s a romanticism about hinterland properties. You walk around the property, you take your shoes off; it’s a really grounding experience. You can build a guest house, you can accommodate extras, and I think that’s kind of a dream especially when you’ve been tight-city-living for a while.
Beach suburbs like Little Cove and Sunshine Beach will always be desirable, but we do see a lot of international clients who have lived in tight cities and just want to breathe again when they come home, so they’re looking at the hinterland to bank for later in life.
The hinterland connects to the Bruce Highway, so it means you don’t have to navigate Noosa traffic just to get to Brisbane. So if you are working in Brisbane, or you’ve got companies there, or you’re sitting on boards, the hinterland is great because you go straight out to the Bruce and you’re in Brisbane in an hour and 15, whereas if you’re navigating through Noosa, it becomes two hours. That’s probably why the hinterland is really desirable for people who have to be in the city often.
The inventory crunch and why it’s the time to buy in
Buyers often think they’ll love one property but go look at 10 more, and there just aren’t 10 more. At [the ultra-prime] level, near enough often has to become good enough.
New builds are selling incredibly well. New architectural homes are sought-after because people do not want to wait. They do not want to deal with council, with design. I think the premium build space is definitely where we’re seeing the most capital growth. Because even if you buy an epic block or an epic old house, most people just don’t want to deal with the rest. They just want to unpack their bags and start living their lives.
Just listed for sale: a new architectural beachside residence in Peregian Beach by designer Georgina Price. (Photos courtesy of Casey Languillon)
The people who move here are like-minded. They dream of the lifestyle Noosa offers, of working towards health and wellness: having space, life, beautiful homes and temperate weather.
It’s definitely more about intentional buying now. It’s very considered. We’re not seeing buying on a whim. There’s a lot of research that goes into our area, which is why a buyer’s agent is great if you’re not local, as they can help people navigate our area because it is quite a unique market.
The rise of land banking and multi-generational living
We’re also seeing an increase in land banking: we do have a lot of people now contacting us, going, “I won’t be back for a while, but I definitely will retire there, so I’m going to grab something now. Maybe put someone in for a rental.”
We’ve also seen a lot of multi-generational living because Noosa is a very expensive area. So, while the kids are young and studying at home or building their business, the parents will build a guest house at the back. We’re seeing a lot of that, and the bigger houses can lend themselves to that.
Queensland’s expanding luxury ecosystem
The whole region is sprawling out. Areas along the river and the marina have become destinations in their own right. Even the food offering has expanded. Places like Pomona and Eumundi have evolved—boutique hospitality, distilleries, live music. What used to feel like a day trip now just feels like part of the broader Noosa lifestyle.
And then there’s Brisbane, the Queensland capital. We’re all waiting for the Olympics there in 2032, so that’s obviously a plus for the area. It’s a city that offers our weather and the resort lifestyle, and it was overlooked for so long. Now it’s changed a lot, and it’s not trying to be Sydney or Melbourne, which I love. It has more of an L.A. feeling. James Street is amazing. The Calile Hotel in Brisbane is one of my favourite hotels in Australia, and they’re opening soon in Noosa too.
Finally, I think Queensland is embracing this sophistication and bringing in that sophisticated money. We’ve always had great weather, everyone would do their holidays in Noosa every year, but we didn’t have the services or the style to bring in that high-end client, that really six-star international client. Now we’re getting there.
Go further with Casey Languillon’s property listings:
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