THE auction of luxury rural property Braeside Mountain south of Warwick was cancelled this morning due to a lack of registered bidders.

The sprawling 105-hectare holding off Coochie Rd at Dalveen was due to go under the hammer at 11am at the Palace Hotel, with marketing agents Elders opting to call off proceedings.

Braeside Mountain has been owned by Asia-based business identity Lloyd Ernst since October 2000.

The elevated property – which has in the past hosted Australian Open Garden events – features its own golf driving range, horizon swimming pool and a helicopter pad, along with its pristine gardens and sweeping views of the surrounding countryside.

The three-bedroom home has been renovated completely in the past 12 months to include under-floor heating, full-length floor-to-ceiling double-glass windows and a deck with an outdoor kitchen and pizza oven.

Braeside Mountain is one of a swag of high-end rural properties currently up for grabs in the Southern Downs region.

Historic Glenvale Station on the shores of Leslie Dam was passed in at auction early last year and is still on the market, as is The Glen south of Warwick which was passed in on May 7.

Local agent Stuart Bond said due to bank lending criteria being tightened up in recent times sales of high-end rural property were “hard work”.

“Some of the rural residential style properties from five to 100 acres are moving, where we have buyers who are not looking for an income off the property, but the bigger farming propositions are slow,” Mr Bond said.

“I think it’s just a reflection of the wider economic conditions, but it’s hard to say how long things might take to correct.

“To be honest I think we’re in a bit of a plateau situation at the moment, certainly with those higher-range rural properties.

“Sellers obviously have to be realistic in terms of the asking price and meeting the market, but it’s hard to find comparisons at the moment because those kinds of properties aren’t really selling.”

Mr Bond said there was still activity on the local real estate market overall, with residential house blocks under $100,000 selling well, along with units and flats.

Look out for our Domain 20-page local real estate guide only in Saturday’s print edition of the Warwick Daily News.