Reports of a possible croc sighting in one of Australia’s most exclusive enclaves have made a big splash, but the residential property market seems unfazed.
Noosa is home to some of Australia’s most prestige real estate – and possibly, a 3.5 metre crocodile.
Reports of a croc sighting at Noosa Spit made a splash after fisherman James Graham captured a suspicious image on his boat’s depth-sounder on 20 July.
“Your eyes tell you immediately what you see but then you try to put logic to that and you think: ‘There’s no crocs in Noosa,” he told the 7 Network.
Another resident claimed a similar sighting on his morning stroll.
Queensland wildlife authorities investigated but found no evidence.
While about 20,000 to 30,000 saltwater crocs live in Queensland, Noosa on the Sunshine Coast is well south of their usual territory.
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The median house price in Noosa Heads is $2.35m according to PropTrack, though riverfront homes can fetch many times that. Picture: Getty
The world’s largest living reptiles have been seen as far south as the Mary River – about an hour north of Noosa – where rangers euthanised one in June, citing safety concerns.
Community Representation of Crocodiles (CROC) co-founder Amanda French says it’s “not common” but “not unlikely” for a croc to visit Noosa.
“Crocodiles have always been visiting South East Queensland, and there’s records being shared around today of a crocodile in the Logan River in 1905,” she said.
She cited previous sightings near Inskip Point and in Maryborough.
This luxury home on the Noosa River sold for $16.96m in mid-July. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Ms French said if the Noosa sighting was indeed a croc, it could be a case of misadventure or the reptile being pushed from its territory.
“They have a territory of up to 50 kilometers so it’s certainly not crazy to think a crocodile could be in Noosa,” she said.
Despite the buzz, local real estate agents aren’t worried. Property prices across the Sunshine Coast have risen 83% since March 2020, said REA Group’s executive manager of economist, Angus Moore.
The Sunshine Coast median is sitting at $1 million, though price growth has started to slow down.
“Prices are up a little over 5% in the past year, which is still solid, but slower than what we had been seeing through 2024, and much slower than what we were seeing during the pandemic,” Mr Moore said.
“That slowdown this year has been even more pronounced in Noosa. In the past 12 months, prices are up just 1.7% – though Noosa saw slightly stronger growth during the pandemic than the Sunshine Coast as a whole.”
REA Group executive manager of economics Angus Moore.
Still, Noosa real estate agent Matt Powe of Harcourts Property Centre said talk of a possible croc isn’t spooking buyers, adding “black snakes, brown snakes and pythons” are more top of mind.
“I used to sell property in Cairns and it wasn’t really an issue there – and that’s living with them on a daily basis. Plenty of people would happily line up to buy property in quays and adjacent to waterways. They’re just a bit more conscious, not swimming and being a bit more careful with launching boats,” he said.
“Here, it’s something probably potentially fictitious, let alone something you’d see on a daily basis.”
Further north in the heart of croc territory, Ray White Port Douglas agent Soula Kazakis recalled her own croc encounter one sunny winter’s day in 2015.
Port Douglas in tropical far-north Queensland has many luxury waterfront properties, despite being home to large saltwater crocodiles. Picture: Getty
Ms Kazakis was showing a family from Melbourne a home backing onto a lake when their young child, aged four or five, was running ahead.
“I was walking with the parents about four metres behind the child, chatting away about all things real estate and Port Douglas,” she recalled.
“Then I looked ahead, to my absolute horror, I saw a large crocodile sunbaking right on the grassy patch—directly in the path of their child.
“Well, you’ve never seen me move so fast in high heels! I sprinted and scooped the child up by the arm – he was indeed airborne – just in the nick of time.
“Needless to say, that family decided not to buy in Port Douglas.”
But after one croc encounter in 20 years of real estate, Ms Kazakis was pragmatic: “You’re probably at greater risk dodging traffic in the city”.
Located in croc country, Cairns has seen property prices rise almost 12% over the past year. Picture: Getty
Cairns, a known croc zone, continues to see strong property growth with prices rising almost 12% in the past year to reach a median of $550,000.
But it’s false to think crocodiles are moving southward or exploding in population, according to Croc Queensland’s Amanda French.
“It’s not unheard of to think a crocodile could be in Noosa from time to time, but that crocodile would return back north after a little while,” she said.
“Crocodiles don’t breed further south than Rockhampton.
“There’s a lot of misinformation in the media about this Noosa crocodile that we need to start culling them because they’re pushing their way down to southeast Queensland – that’s not true at all.”
Commercial hunting of crocs ended in the mid-1970s and the reptiles became protected in 1976.
They are now listed as vulnerable in the state of Queensland.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, your risk of death from contact with a venomous snake is almost four times higher than a crocodile.
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