Queensland mining towns boast best return on property investment in latest Westpac City Versus Country snapshot. Based on annual capital gains over the past decade and gross rental returns, houses in Parkside and Winston in Mount Isa are commanding total returns of 24.7 per cent and 22.5 per cent respectively. In Mackay, apartments offer returns of 20.3 per cent. In comparison, apartments in Brisbane’s investment property hot spots of North Lakes, Loganlea and Marsden are offering total returns of 20.8, 20.5 and 19.9 per cent respectively. Jays Real Estate Mount Isa principal Sophie Keily said the town’s softened market was a good thing for investors. “Mount Isa traditionally has swings with regard to housing supply and demand, but in the long term there is more often a shortage of housing,” she said. Almost half of the city’s available housing is rental properties, with newcomers usually preferring to rent. Most of our investors are locals who can see the big picture of how mining affects the town.” Ms Keily said her office showed a 4 per cent vacancy rate, with new homes renting for about $700-$800 a week and smaller homes renting for $400 a week. Westpac general manager of retail banking Gai McGrath said there were pros and cons to investing in metropolitan and regional suburbs. “Properties in dense city areas are more likely to secure tenants and in turn steady rental returns, however the price point may be out of reach for many,” she said. “Regional properties, as a rule, tend to offer lower entry prices. But it’s important to note that they are more at the mercy of the health of the local economy.” While Mackay performed strongly in the snapshot, the city’s real estate agents disagree with the figures, citing job insecurity and the increase in fly-in, fly-out workers as the main reason for high vacancy rates. Harcourts Mackay principal Mandy Hall said the rentals market was presently worse than the sales market: “We’ve got very high vacancy rates across the board, with 887 rental properties available in Mackay at the moment.”
Posted on: Sun, 11 May 2014 03:00:25 +0000
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