Southland is the place to and the interest shown in the Catlins tractor and free farm sale on Trade Me is evidence of this, Southland Mayor Frana Cardno said. "We've got it all in the south," Mrs Cardno said in response to a media question about what has Southland got. "We do need to thank the Hollands as their originality and creativity has certainly raised the profile of both the Southland property market and also Southland as a whole. "The beauty of the scenery, from the Catlins to Fiordland to Stewart Island, is just one aspect of what we can offer in the south. We are also performing strongly, economically wise, and recent economic indicators in housing, labour, retail sales and commodity markets point toward this continuing, which means we are insulated from the recession. "Southland's backbone is farming, but we are also rich in natural resource and energy resources, and with the amazing landscapes we have here, tourism is still growing." For the March 2009 quarter, Southland recorded the strongest three-month rise in house prices in the country, but housing prices still remain affordable for the average family income. Unemployment figures have gone up to 2.8%, but that is still 1.5% below the national average and is the lowest in the country. "Then there are the unmeasurables - the quality of life, the people and not being stuck in traffic jams in a city," Mrs Cardno said. The ingenuity of auctioning a tractor plus a free farm shows the imagination of the Southland people, she said. "Too often we are knocked down for being too cold, too far away, too Hicksville, too small - but I am looking out my window at a bright sunny day and am thinking of the many successes that have come from Southland - from Burt Munro to the Southern Sting. "Small is not always bad, and bright ideas can come from anywhere." As for giving flowers to the Hollands, which had been suggested in the media by Trade Me head of business Mike O'Donnell, Mrs Cardno said she would think about that seriously. "Maybe a toy tractor might be more appropriate," she said.