It’s interesting to consider buyers’ and sellers’ mindsets in a market like this. People often ask us, ‘When is the best time to buy property?’. The answer to that is ‘20 years ago’. I suspect the answer will be the same again in 20 years time. My point here is that as long as you buy property with a long term view in mind, there’s really not a bad time to buy.

Famous investor, Warren Buffett, is quoted as saying "We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful."

That quote came to me when I was speaking to someone today about buying property. They were saying, in essence, that they had been looking to buy and weren't sure if this was the right time. The funny thing about buyers is that most want to buy when things are white hot, and they choose to wait when things cool, albeit temporarily. The smartest thing to do is the opposite, if you have the courage and opportunity to do so.

So I counselled the buyer on two key things. First, never rush a property purchase or over commit by spending more than you can afford. And second, don’t wait too long because quality property is rarely left unattended. If you are ready to buy, don’t stop looking now because things have cooled down slightly, it’s actually the best environment to go shopping in.

Cairns and the Tropical North Queensland region, with its icons of the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, is in reality one big holiday location, visited by more than two million domestic and international tourists annually year. Most of these are holiday makers but some also come for business reasons or to study.

For this reason, just about every house in the entire Far North Queensland region can be regarded as a holiday house, which either caters directly to a holiday maker, or contains people whose livelihoods depend on tourism. Like all prime holiday locations, a good tourist season and a good property season go hand in hand.

The Cairns tourism industry has done it tough during the course of the GFC, but is looking forward to a brighter late 2010 and early 2011 as extra domestic and international airline flights kick in during March and April. According to local tourism experts, the extra flights are expected to bring an extra $100 million of tourism business into the region every year.