Erle Levey

With more than 23 years' experience at Sunshine Coast Newspapers, first at our Noosa office and since then at Maroochydore, I thoroughly enjoy my role as property editor and am dedicated to presenting a fair and
accurate overview of the Sunshine Coast property market. Having been through the busts and the booms, I have the benefit of hindsight - and an unshakeable belief in the future of the region.

Where did you buy your first property?
 A fibro beach house on Phillip Island in Victoria. It cost $24,000 ... but it was a long time ago.

3 tips for buying a home:
1. Choose a place that you will be happy in. You spend half your day there, so you may as well love living in it. 

2. Choose a home that is in a good position and makes use of that - good north-south alignment, good outlook etc. It helps if it is the worst house in the best street and that you are able to use that to improve
the value of the property.

3. Don't get caught up in the sense of loss and think you may miss out. Think about whether you can afford it IF you have a drop in income, IF there is a rise in interest rates.

Aside from the Sunshine Coast, if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Probably south of Perth. No, not Margaret River, even further south than that. Denmark or Cape Leeuwin, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. Western Australia and South-east Queensland are the best places I have seen.

Acreage or City Living?
Well, if it was to be Western Australia it would be acreage ... but I would be happy living in Brisbane in say Newfarm, Spring Hill, Milton or Paddington.

House or Apartment?
Either. The house would have to be a well designed contemporary structure ... or something to renovate. The apartment would have to be close to the city, the river or the beach. And it would have to have lots of natural light.

Favourite room in a house and why?
The study. I spend a lot of time there so it needs to be a place I enjoy. After all, you can listen to the radio, music or watch sport on TV while you work.

Backyard with lots of gardening or courtyard with very little? Having grown up on a farm I like to grow a few things. But I am amazed at what you can grow in the smaller spaces today with bigger homes on smaller allotments. Gardening gives a good balance to my work ... 

Carpet, Floorboard or Tiles?
Timber floors ... definitely. I love the feel of them on your bare feet. But I also like polished concrete and the concrete tiles ... I like the raw elements of timber, stone, steel and glass. And the fact they require very little maintenance.

Favourite suburb on the coast?
 I love Buderim. The mountain slopes encourage good architecture and there are plenty of trees. When you have trees you always have friends. The same can be said of Mount Coolum and Sunshine Beach-Noosa Heads.

What the best/most inspiring home buying/real estate story you've heard:
A tough one as in this role I see and hear so many. One that makes so much sense ... and you can relate it to other situations ... was the family in Noosa that bought a block of land on the early stages of Noosa Sound as his father said that had always been the best place to fish. I guess if the fish liked it others would also ... a quiet, sheltered part of the river. Yes, it has become very valuable over time.  You could even look back to where the aborigines used to like to camp during the mullet season ... in the lee of the headlands of our beaches. It made sense then and it makes sense now.

Pets inside or out? Out ... unless it's a cat.

What's the best thing you can do to 'improve' a house?
Do a little bit to maintain or improve it often rather than huge renovations. A user-friendly alfresco area is probably the best extension. It's useable space that doesn't cost a lot ... but make sure it is weather proof ... no sense in being set up for dinner and you get drenched in a sudden storm.