Two- speed recovery
T O WN S V I L L E ’ S h o u s i n g market is in a recovery phase but outer suburbs are continuing to struggle, according to the latest Herron Todd White report.
The HTW residential month in review report for December states that Townsville’s market has been recovering for much of 2017 but premium suburbs are showing the strongest signs of growth.
“The housing market is highly suburb- selective with reasonable turnover levels in the sought- after mid to inner suburbs, but slow sales in the outer areas and suburbs with perceived social issues,” the report states.
“The market is being driven by owner- occupiers, including a number of first- home buyers.
“The unit market has seen a slight increase in trend terms in sale volumes, however volumes remain at low levels compared to recent years.”
An increase in business confidence and upturn in the mining sector combined with jobs growth and falling unemployment has helped Townsville to enter and stay in the recovery phase.
According to HTW, the number of jobs advertised in the Townsville region in October 2017 increased by 34 per cent compared with the same time last year.
Despite several positive indicators, the residential property market remains fragile with the unit and land sales market lagging behind the housing market.
The HTW monthly rental roll survey shows that rental vacancy rates are continuing to fall, with large- scale projects that attract workers from out of town helping to reduce vacancy rates.
The vacancy rate has fallen from 5.61 per cent in January to 3.9 per cent as of October.