Kieran Clair, realestate.com.au
There's an old valuers saying that you get one chance every 10 years to profit from main road properties, and that time is now, according to the experts.
Registered Harcourts Solution valuer and property consultant Ben Anderssen said high demand for blue-chip locations had buyers compromising on position when looking to invest.
"Because there's so little supply around, you find that people are happy to look at stock on main roads because it's available and probably it's a bit cheaper than even looking one or two streets back," Mr Anderssen said.
He said main road properties also offered landlords a little extra return on investment. "Tenants don't seem to care much whether the property is on a main road or not, so the rental is still up there although the (market) value is down," he said.
Mr Anderssen also said out-of-town buyers from busy capitals seemed less worried about main roads than locals, because when you were from Sydney or even overseas dealing with higher densities was part of everyday life.
D'Arcy Real Estate principal Peter D'Arcy said the maturing of Brisbane as a capital city meant residents were coming to terms with traffic.
"In the inner city now it's hard to get a street that doesn't have much traffic," he said. "There's a lot of rat running going on a lot more traffic, so the differential is not as wide as maybe 10 years ago, and certainly main roads aren't as hard to sell as they were 10 years ago."
Mr D'Arcy said a rise in buyer acceptance of main roads was a signpost the market was on the way up.
"I always think the market changes when all the old stock starts selling and/or if properties come on and they're main road, and they go quickly," he said.
Katherine and Shane Zanow recently sold their Waterworks Rd home in Ashgrove in just one week.
Their circa 1930s double-gable, three-bedroom, one-bathroom Ashgrovian is in the suburb's "Avenues" enclave.
Known for great school catchments, wide leafy streets and large allotments, it's a typical blue-chip, inner-ring location that's attracting an abundance of interest.
"We had a big response on our first open house we had 11 groups through and we had more than one offer as well," Mrs Zanow said.
"We had her negotiating within 15 minutes of the first open house finishing, and we were under contract within two and a half hours.
"We were never concerned at any stage that we weren't going to sell, and never concerned that we would not get our money back."
Mrs Zanow said the stigma of main roads was also being alleviated by technology, with the ability to soundproof homes in million-dollar locations for less than $25,000. "You would close the door and then that was it the world would disappear and you couldn't hear anything," she said.
Mrs Zanow said their future plans could include another main road holding in Ashgrove. "We have every intention of coming back in to this area and buying an investment property, and in no way, shape or form would we be put off buying on a main road," she said.
