12:00a.m. 18th August 2007

| By Michele Sternberg

With markets, art galleries, craft stores, restaurants and cafes, the historical town of Eumundi is filled with interesting places to visit and romantic bed and breakfast-style places to stay

Offering a relaxed village lifestyle, Eumundi is best known for its Wednesday and weekend markets which attract thousands of visitors each week. Add to this art galleries, craft stores, restaurants and cafes, the historical town of Eumundi is filled with interesting places to visit and romantic bed and breakfast-style places to stay.

"Eumundi is a real surprise package," says Guy McLennan of Century 21 Real Estate.

"At a sporting level, there’s tennis courts, the skate park and football fields and, from a cultural point of view, you have the galleries, lots of little festivals, active community groups, the local magazine and regular plays in the town hall."

Two new residential developments offer land from 700 to 1200sq m, but Guy says it isn’t uncommon to find homes on 0.2ha and 0.4ha blocks in town. People moving to Eumundi are generally second and third home buyers looking for a tree change.

"We see many people coming from Sydney, Melbourne and Western Australia and they’re after a lovely little piece of acreage ... room for the kids, walk to school, 15 minutes to the beach and 12 minutes to Noosa."

Guys says buyers look for quality but usually want ’something more unique’.

"It’s not your traditional brick and tile home that they are looking for, usually something with more of a Queenslander-feel, but they still want four bedrooms, two bathrooms, double lock-up garage and dual living areas.

"And there is that sort of thing available in and around Eumundi."

Guys says he loves most the diversity and friendliness of the town.

"There are plenty of good cafes so we’re always in town critiquing the local coffee shops and, when you walk down the street, you know everyone and they say ’hi’.’’

The median house price for the March 2007 quarter was $305,000. Noosa Hinterland Realty sales representative Jason Halstead, who lives with his family on an acreage block on the outskirts of town, says buyers come from all over the country and all around the world.

“They come to the markets, full-on love the town and want to live here,” he says. “It’s the lifestyle appeal. I know because I moved up from the Gold Coast 15 years ago to get away from it all.”

Jason says Eumundi has all the facilities you need and “...there’s a new skateboard park, and there is a pool going in which will be really good once it’s completed, the showgrounds, shops and, of course, the markets.

“It’s a great spot to live. Personally, I love how Eumundi is such a laid-back town, it’s rustic and historic. It’s a busy place on market days and quiet the rest of the time.”

Jason, whose children go to the local primary school, says all the facilities a family requires are right on your doorstep.

“You’re so close to everything. We go to the beach a lot – it’s so close. I take the dog walking and we go four-wheel driving along North Shore, we water-ski on the river every second weekend and you can also shoot out to Borumba Dam where there are national parks.”

According to REIQ figures (calculated on all house, including acreage, sales since January 1, 2000), the most expensive streets are Lone Hand Road and Sunrise Road. The highest house sale for the 12 months to the end of March 2007 quarter was $1.61m paid for a four-bedroom home on a 3.52 hectare-block in Sunrise Rd, which sold in June 2006. Median weekly rents for a three-bedroom house are around $300, a rise of 1.7% from the same time last year. According to 2006 Census data, the population of Eumundi is 1836 with a median age of 41.

The ratio of home ownership to rental for all occupied private dwellings is 74% (owned) to 21% (rented).