RECEIVERS for 10 financially distressed rural properties in central and southern Queensland have achieved well over $12 million in sales.
The first tranche of properties, known as the Mott Portfolio, at Meandarra, west of Dalby, had been placed into the hands of receiver PPB Advisory by National Australia Bank.
The portfolio of four properties totalling 7408 hectares sold off-market for a price believed to be well over $7 million, with a split between graziers and Sydney-based investors buying in.
The properties, Yambeen, Warooka, Nameerah and Woodville, were sold through Ray White Rural's Bruce Douglas.
The second tranche of properties included six holdings once owned by KM Cattle Company, placed in the hands of receiver PPB Advisory by Bankwest.
The properties totalled 2882 hectares of grazing country.
Of the six properties, five sold at auction on Thursday through Ray White Rural's Bruce Douglas and Mark Simpson for a total of $5.4 million.
The properties, all destocked of cattle, were in the Moura and Biloela districts. They included the 1194-hectare Fairhaven, which topped the sales at $1.92 million. Numerous local graziers bought up the properties.
Ray White Rural's Mark Simpson said the result was a very good sign for the market. "They weren't record prices but they do show that prices are stable," Mr Simpson said. "I haven't seen any increase in property prices but this year there has definitely been a lot more interest from buyers."
Ray White's Bruce Douglas said the strong sales were testament to the high quality of the properties and their good maintenance.
PPB Advisory maintained a management force over all the properties. Its head of agribusiness for Queensland, David Leigh, said maintaining properties after they had fallen into financial difficulty was crucial for making sure they attracted strong sale prices.
"The properties were sold above what they had been valued at, which is a very strong result.
"Maintaining good management of the stations is critical because a buyer will always magnify the value of what extra work will need to be done to bring the property back into order."
In separate Queensland cattle station sales during last week, an undisclosed Rockhampton buyer snapped up Blackall properties Tilbury and Milroy for more than $5 million through Elders.
