MACKAY’S housing market has become Queensland’s biggest growth story, with the city once ravaged by the mining downturn now leading the state.
MACKAY’S housing market has become Queensland’s biggest growth story, with the city once ravaged by the mining downturn now leading the state.
The latest Real Estate Institute of Queensland market monitor, released today, reveals the north Queensland city has delivered the strongest growth of any region in the state in the past 12 months.
Over the year ending March, Mackay’s median house price grew by one per cent to $339,000.
Sarina, about 30 kilometres south of the city, was one of the top performers, with its median house price up by 15.3 per cent.
Unemployment is the lowest in Queensland at 3.2 per cent and the residential sales and rental market is riding a new wave of confidence.
REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said agents in the region were reporting an optimism from buyers and sellers that had been missing for some time following the resources downturn.
“It’s a fantastic continuing story for this market,” Ms Mercorella said.
“Now that we’re seeing mines beginning to ramp up production, it’s great for Mackay, which is the main centre that services mining equipment.
“A lot of businesses have expanded their workforce and this is having a flow-on effect to the rental and sales market throughout the region.”
After years of poor property price growth, regions like Gladstone, Rockhampton and Townsville are poised to become an investors’ paradise following the state government’s decision to give the green light for the Adani mine in the Galilee Basin.
According to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, Gladstone’s housing market is “closer to the end than the beginning of its price falls”.
The REIQ said the city’s median unit price of $171,000 was the most affordable of any major region in the state, making it “an attractive proposition for investors”.
Rockhampton, with an annual median house price of $254,500, is the most affordable housing sector of all markets in Queensland, according to the REIQ.
The city’s median house price rose an impressive 15.2 per cent to $265,000 in the March quarter of this year.
Even Townsville’s housing market, which has been impacted heavily by floods, is looking up.
Over the March quarter, the volume of house sales dropped by 27 per cent, which is likely a reflection of the 3000 reported properties damaged in the flood event earlier this year.
Vacancy rates in Townsville also tightened from 4.3 per cent in December to 1.5 per cent in March, forcing rents upward, with the median rent increasing $18 for a three-bedroom house and $30 for a two-bedroom house.
That means gross rental yields for investors have also increased, and with major investment in infrastructure projects scheduled for the region, experts are predicting the economic boost to flow through to the property market.
“I think with these big projects, it just shines a light on Townsville,” REIQ Regional Director Damien Keyes said.
“We will get the initial injection of all these people coming to the region in places like restaurants and local businesses, but also people will pay attention to how great our market conditions are,” Mr Keyes said.
“It will put Townsville on the radar for a lot of people in terms of where they look to buy.”
The latest data shows the Gold Coast housing market is starting to heat up again, with the median house price rising 0.8 per cent during the March quarter to $625,000.
And while the Sunshine Coast recorded relatively flat conditions during the quarter, the region has outperformed over the past five years with its median house price jumping more than 30 per cent.
Its unit market was also the strongest major market performer in Queensland over the same period, posting a median price increase of 22.9 per cent.
Noosa’s median house price fell 4.7 per cent over the quarter to $715,000, but that’s still the highest major region median house price in the state.