INSPIRE
ENDURING LEGACY FOR ALL
Seasons
From humble beginnings to defining luxury, Tom Offermann’s story is one of vision, relationships, and the relentless pursuit of excellence, Helen Flanagan enthuses. Where squeaky white sand beaches and sparkling meandering turquoise waterways meet lush hinterland peaks, Tom Offermann saw the potential for more than homes. He saw legacies. When Tom moved to Noosa from Brisbane in 1986, he did so with a motivational mantra in mind. “I have always been spurred on by a famous saying from Thomas Jefferson: ‘If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done,’” he says, whilst recalling his initial foray into real estate at an agency on sophisticated Hastings Street. His first sale was a $31,200 threebedroom apartment. “Man was I excited,” he enthuses. “I would kayak along the Noosa River and fully appreciate the sense of community and the diversity of people I could serve, from families to business leaders and high-profile investors.” Thirteen real estate agencies operated on the same street, and the concept of exclusivity barely existed. However, Tom found his point of difference six years later, unveiling his IN Noosa Magazine
namesake agency in Quamby Place on Noosa Parade. Ten years later he opened the Hastings Street office. “I was now weaponised with a mobile phone with a pull-up aerial, but I used it as little as possible because it cost 65 cents per minute, and texts were 40 cents,” he recalls. “A competitor said I would be broke in a year and never make it outside of Hastings Street. I love a challenge, so he did me a favour.” Beyond the luxury homes, boutiques, and fancy restaurants, he was drawn by nature, the people, also the shaping of Noosa, especially in burgeoning Noosa Heads which was well underway and facilitating fortuitous times for bold entrepreneurs. As the market shifted from beach shacks to high-end residential estates and mindful architectural projects, Tom didn’t follow merely to stay current, he led. Veer off Hastings Street, leaving boutiques, gelato queues, and beachbound crowds behind, head briefly along Noosa Parade, then turn again. There, a small bridge arcs over a quiet canal. 158
On the other side lies Witta Circle, an island of privacy where lawns roll to the river and paddleboards rest beside private jetties. Developed in the early 1970s as part of the Noosa Sound canal estate, the first project to offer the region truly waterfront homes, this curving stretch of about 50 houses is among the most coveted pieces of real estate in Australia. Waterfront land originally sold for around $12,000, today sites trade in the tens of millions, and Witta Circle boasts some of Queensland’s most stunning waterfront properties with the highest land sale at $18 million, and highest house sale at $30 million. When the land was released many real estate naysayers predicted it would sink, washed away by a king tide. Over 5O years later, with glimmering waterways leading to the magical Noosa River, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Noosa Sound has enjoyed an annual 15.75% average capital appreciation that has resulted in the average doubling period of four years and nine months.
PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Proud ten to 30-plus years at Tom Offermann Real Estate: BACK ROW: Cameron, Alistair, Sandy, Tom, Tracy FRONT ROW: Rebecca, Jesse, Nic, Rebekah and Julie. Eric absent