IT’S a suburb where houses, on average, only change hands every quarter of a century and where shopkeepers are still on a first-name basis with their customers.
It’s not out beyond suburbia or in the outback either, it’s just 9km south-west of Brisbane and it’s a locale on the rise.
Corinda, one of those nondescript suburbs you tend to pass through without taking much notice, still retains a yesteryear feel.
The shopping strip on Oxley Rd remains a thriving retail outlet, being somewhat protected because the nearest major shopping centre is several kilometres away at Indooroopilly.
A hardware store, a second-hand book shop, a chemist, an Asian restaurant and a dry cleaners are among the businesses operating from the strip.
Nanette Lilley Property real estate agent Doug May said one of the reasons for such an array of small businesses surviving here, in an era dominated by multi-nationals and shopping complexes, is the stability of the suburb’s population, which at last count was 4695.
“On average home owners sell every seven years, but in Corinda it’s every 27 years,” May told The Courier-Mail.
Properties may change hands at a slightly faster rate in the future, however, after sections of Corinda, near and around the railway line, were re-zoned to allow for five-storey apartment blocks.
There’s already a newly-built multi-level apartment building on the opposite side of the railway station car park on Oxley Rd, which provides views of the city and Mount Coot-tha.
“The high side of the road in Corinda has always been popular,” May said.
On the other side of the railway line is St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School – one of best-performing private schools in the state.
Latest OP results show 46 per cent of Year 12 students received an OP1-5 in 2016 and almost 12 per cent received an OP1.
In the 2016 Naplan Test, it achieved a top-five result for all year levels (3, 5, 7 and 9) in Queensland, with its Year 3s topping the state.
The school’s success adds to the dynamics of the suburb, said May, who also pointed out that 48 per cent of Corinda households were couples with children.
“Long-standing cultural icons of St Aidan’s, the Sherwood RSL, which is in fact in Corinda, the bowls club and the local library combine to add history to the vibrant resurgence of a multi-faceted community,” he said.
Locals need not fear that the suburb will soon be defined by apartment buildings, however.
“Corinda has a beautiful combination of landmark character homes and a lot of the character homes cannot be moved nor can the large blocks they’re on be subdivided,” Mr May said.
Rather than worry about how the changing age demographic and the influx of apartments may affect their businesses, two local shop owners have a more-the-merrier approach.
Sean Watson has owned Corinda Hardware for 25 years.
He has noticed the age of his clientele starting to change following the development of apartment blocks in Corinda and in neighbouring Sherwood.
He said the secret to the business’s longevity is both the location and his customer service.
“It’s a good little community and it’s obviously changing in dynamics with the high-rise development which is bringing more people into the area,” Mr Watson said
“A lot of houses that do come on the market are deceased estates or the owners have moved into a nursing home, so people stay here their whole life.
“You have to offer something different than a multi-national and I believe it’s the customer service that has allowed me to survive in an open market.”
Next door to the hardware store is The Little Hair Company hairdresser owned by Jess Ellis who eight month ago took the leap of faith from employee to owner.
Ms Ellis said she retains a high volume of loyal local customers but has also benefited from the opening of trendy cafe Same Same But Different across the road, which has helped attract newcomers into the area.
“There is a bit of a younger crowd coming in, definitely with the café across the road which has a strong following at their other venues,” she said.
“We’ve got people who have been coming in for a very long time although we are getting a lot of young girls coming in as well.”
As for buying in Corinda, the median house price jumped 7. 2 per cent in 2016 from $680,000 to $729,000 while units experienced a 2.3 per cent rise from $430,000 to $440,000, May said.
Originally Published: http://www.couriermail.com.au