15 Things I Wish I Knew Before Moving to Tasmania

An insider’s guide to relocating to Hobart, Launceston or regional Tasmania: choosing where to live, and how buying actually works here. Written by Tasmania’s original independent buyers’ advocates.

Tasmania is, arguably, Australia’s destination of choice for food and wine lovers, adventurers and solace seekers alike. For a growing number of people it is also somewhere to stay. Climate migrants, entrepreneurs, escapists and lifestyle seekers are all looking to secure their slice of the Apple Isle.

Buyer beware, though. Tackling this market without local know-how is not for the faint-hearted. Supply is limited, competition is fierce, and quality properties are often sold privately or behind closed doors, never reaching realestate.com.au or Domain.

That should not put you off. This is a market where insight and proactiveness pay, and the rewards are worth every ounce of effort. Here are the fifteen things we tell every client before they make the move.

On relocating

1. Do your research

Look into relocation costs and lead times for your furniture, vehicles and pets. Backlogs on containers crossing Bass Strait are common, so book early. Ask around for removalists: local Tasmanian companies are often a fraction of the price of the national carriers.

2. Consider the meantime

Many people who move to Tasmania discover that picking up a rental for six to twelve months while they look to buy is far harder than they assumed. Hobart and Launceston both have a chronic undersupply of rental properties, and a furnished or pet-friendly one is harder still.

Contact the leading property management firms well ahead of your arrival date with your requirements, timeframe and budget. Provide employment details, rental references and any supporting documents that show you are a strong, reliable applicant; it puts you front of mind. Tasmania also has a large supply of Airbnb homes that, with notice, can bridge the gap. Or, if you can, buy before you move.

3. Start looking before you’re ready

Track not just the homes that appeal to you but what they actually sell for. You will learn local values and get a feel for the architecture and amenity that differ from suburb to suburb.

Finding and successfully negotiating a home in Tasmania takes longer than in most places on the mainland. Supply is low and demand is high, so leave yourself time. If you feel out of your depth, or you are working to a deadline of under six months, consider engaging a buyers’ agent to search on your behalf.

4. Look into school options

Make enquiries with schools in your preferred areas early. Many well-regarded schools, particularly private ones, run long waitlists, and public primary schools have catchment areas. myschool.edu.au is a free resource covering every school in Tasmania: student profile, NAPLAN results, enrolment numbers and attendance.

5. Register your interest

Some selling agents will keep you in mind if it is clear you are motivated, persistent and ready to proceed. Most don’t proactively service buyers, but if you are after something specific, such as a premium waterfront home or lifestyle acreage, they may tell you about upcoming opportunities.

6. Get your affairs in order

Pre-approved finance gives you confidence and puts you in a strong negotiating position when the right property appears. Many homes here sell in multiple-offer scenarios. Not being subject to finance, showing you aren’t borrowing the majority of the price, or offering a short finance period will make you far more competitive.

On homes and locations

7. How “central” do you want to be?

Clients relocating from the mainland often ask for a home within 45 minutes of Hobart. In Melbourne or Sydney that is still relatively central; 45 minutes from Hobart is regional. It can put you at Kempton in the Midlands, Marion Bay on the east coast, or Cygnet in the Huon Valley.

Travel times swing with weather, traffic and dawn-and-dusk wildlife. Townships can have limited amenities and very limited public transport. The same logic applies from Launceston. Country life here is wonderful, but go in with your eyes open: greater Hobart and greater Launceston are not as metropolitan as many people expect.

8. The pros and cons of a sweeping view

Tasmania has glorious aspects: water, mountain, valley. It is easy to be blown away by a knockout view and miss the trade-offs, which can include natural light, wind and gradient. An outstanding aspect usually means higher elevation, a steeper block, and a home sited for the view alone.

If you value thermal efficiency, indoor–outdoor flow, and being able to walk out the front door for a coffee or a loaf of bread, consider a slightly less elevated position. You will still get a lovely aspect, with far better connection to walkable amenity.

9. Consider renovation or restoration

Look past minor cosmetic shortcomings. Particularly if you are budget-conscious, a property with good bones in the right location lets you add your own mark and avoid paying a premium. Despite popular opinion, good trades at reasonable rates are available if you know who to ask.

10. How important are your “must-haves”?

It is very common for homes in central Hobart and inner Launceston to have no garage and no second bathroom. Much of the city and its fringe is late-1800s and early-1900s housing, built close together and near the front boundary, in an era when cars were not a consideration.

Don’t let that rule a home out. Resident parking permits are readily granted, and in most locations parking within metres of your door is available. Carports and garages can be added at modest cost where space allows, and many older homes have large laundries that adapt easily into a second bathroom or European-style laundry.

On the local buying process

11. The disclosure process

Things work differently here. The biggest difference between Tasmania and most mainland states is that neither the agent nor the seller is required to make any disclosures or warranties about the property: defects, non-compliant additions, outstanding completion or occupancy certificates. The purchaser takes the property as found and carries all of the risk. Have a trusted panel of advisors ready so you can work through your own due diligence promptly.

12. The offer process

Around 95% of properties are sold by “Offers over” or “Expressions of Interest” campaigns rather than public auction. This method is hard to read and often feels like a blind auction. Fear and uncertainty, rather than context and information, drive many inexperienced buyers’ offers. With an unscrupulous agent, people can drastically overpay and effectively bid against themselves. For those borrowing 80–90%, finance can fall over when the valuation comes in 10% or more short.

Ask the selling agent for evidence of directly comparable recent sales, or get an independent view from a licensed valuer or a buyers’ advocate.

13. Buyer beware

Agents and vendors are not required to provide disclosure documents as they are in other states: no statements of information, no standard mandate to disclose known material facts. A Tasmanian 337 certificate reveals whether completion certificates exist for building and plumbing, whether there is an occupancy permit, any outstanding enforcement, and zoning implications, but it takes around two weeks through council. Offers made subject to receiving one are usually not considered competitive. A buyers’ agent can often fast-track most of this information.

14. The countersigning process

Counter-offers are seldom entertained. Buyers are typically encouraged to make their offer “best and final” from the outset, which is confusing for anyone new to the market. Try to gauge from the agent where other interested parties see value and where the vendor’s real expectations lie before you submit. Don’t get swept up emotionally; stick to your plan.

15. Consider a buyers’ agent

And finally, dare we say it: especially if you are relocating from interstate, seriously consider engaging a reputable buyers’ agent. Most of the fee is success-based, and having a trusted local ally on the ground is invaluable, emotionally and commercially. Clients who have used a good agent, compared with going it alone, almost always say they avoided serious error, made wiser decisions, and carried far less stress through an unfamiliar, convoluted and competitive market.

Twenty minutes that can save you months

Most people who move to Tasmania spend three to six months, several flights and a lot of nerves finding out what a local could have told them in one conversation: which suburbs actually match the brief, what “offers over” really means for your budget, whether you need to sell first, and what to walk away from. That’s what this call is for. Bring your questions; we’ll give you straight answers, tell you honestly whether a buyer’s advocate makes sense for you, and if it doesn’t, point you in the right direction anyway.

What you’ll leave with

• A realistic read on your budget against the areas you’re considering
• The two or three things most likely to trip you up, and how to avoid them
• A clear next step, whether or not that involves us

Shepherd & Co Real Estate Advisory · Hobart Buyers Agents Pty Ltd · Licensed, independent, never selling.