CITY’S PROPERTY ON THE MOVE
OPTIMISM has crept back into Townsville’s property market, with industry experts and recent results painting a picture of a region in recovery.
Valuer Herron Todd White placed the city at 7 or 8 o’clock on its property clock, a position saved for areas at the start of an upswing.
In its latest residential property report, market research group BIS Shrapnel has also predicted growth, tipping Townsville for a 3 per cent lift in prices over the next three years.
The improved forecasts come as the region recorded two of its strongest sales in recent months.
A home in Bushland Beach was sold by Elite Properties Townsville for $ 1.2 million, while one at Douglas recorded the suburb’s highest sale, breaking a price record of $ 1.24 million.
The Douglas property, sold by Explore Property’s Eric Abel, is believed to have been picked up for $ 1.3 million despite not being listed on the market.
BIS Shrapnel senior manager Angie Zigomanis said the local market was turning around.
“There’s not going to be an instant or quick change but looking over the next two or three years things are starting to improve,” he said.
“As the economy continues to turn, the real estate market will be directly linked with that and there will be some more price growth as time goes on.
“An improved economy will also add to population growth, which will spur residential sales even further in Townsville.”
Mr Zigomanis said BIS Shrapnel was predicting that Townsville would stay on track for price growth over the next three years.
Mayor Jenny Hill said Townsville’s property market was filled with potential.
“It has been a bit depressed but from what I’ve been hearing around town we’ve reached a turning point,” she said. “For us it’s about trying to show off the lifestyle advantages that come with living here.
“Some of the work we’re looking to do in the future, connecting The Strand to the creek and making the inner- city more liveable, will be great for residential real estate.
“We’re well placed in the present and into the future to capitalise on growth in the industry as it comes.”
For Philip Boorer, who has just bought a home in Burdell, the attraction of buying in Townsville is obvious.
“It’s a great lifestyle with plenty of things to do and places to see,” he said. “We’ve lived here a little while now and we thought it would be a good time to get in before prices start going up.
“At the moment the market is great for buyers and that has let us look at properties that might normally be out of reach.”
Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella said feedback from local agents had been more positive.
“While the Townsville real estate market hasn’t had a lot of good news in recent years, there are signs that the stabilisation in prices may be a sign of good things to come,” she said.
“The REIQ Queensland Market Monitor revealed sales activity in the $ 350,000-$ 500,000 range have remained solid for two years now and prices reflect similar levels of stability.
“There are good indicators that Townsville has passed through the bottom of the market and is now in a stabilisation phase ... a few significant sales at the end of the June quarter should show a small lift in the next batch of data when it is released in a couple of months.”