Karragarra Island
Karragarra Island is the smallest in the Southern Moreton Bay island group. It is about half a kilometre wide by 4 kilometres long and has an estimated population of 300 (240 residents in the 2021 census. As at July 2022, Karragarra Island had 242 properties issued with valuations by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines. Of these approximately 173 have private dwellings constructed upon them.
Karragarra has no shops and all provisions must be brought from the mainland or from shops on larger islands. It has a variety of country types, from coastal forest with rich red volcanic soils to wallum forest and melaleuca wetlands.
The island is fringed with mangrove forest and tidal mudflats that provide a rich ecosystem for both invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. Needless to say the fishing and crabbing can be good.
The island has a sandy beach at its' north western extremity. With advancements in communication and information technology, people are increasingly choosing places like Karragarra Island to live and work from home.
ABOUT KARRAGARRA
In line with other locations, Karragarra Island real estate took a hit during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, bottoming out in mid-2011. Values remained fairly level, but in that time the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, including Karragarra, saw a significant increase in both building activity and population. More and more people were starting to realize the benefits of Island life and Redland City Council were finally starting to pump money into much needed infrastructure.
Now finally the Banking sector are making investment into the Southern Bay Islands, including Karragarra Island, a little more realistic with less stringent loan to valuation ratios. Since the last quarter of 2020, we have seen a marked increase in value for the better situated real estate.