Home values plummet in state’s bush

RESIDENTS in Outback Queensland have been hit with a double whammy of hardship as homeowners in the grip of drought struggle to sell their properties.

A new report from property analyst Corelogic reveals desperate vendors in the state’s rural communities are offering huge discounts to find buyers.

The latest quarterly regional report, which looks at the performance of house and unit markets over the year to January 2020, found vendors in Outback Queensland are on average slashing the sale prices of their properties by up to 11 per cent – the highest in the country.

Home values in the state’s bush, including towns such as Barcaldine, Mount Isa and Longreach, have fallen a whopping 52 per cent since their peak in May 2013 and are down 26 per cent in the past 12 months.

In Central Queensland, residents are reducing the asking price for their homes by 7.1 per cent to secure a sale. And to try to sell a unit they are offering discounts of 8 per cent.

House sales in Central Queensland are down 1.1 per cent compared with the same time last year, while unit sales are down 6 per cent.

Unit values in the region have fallen 0.5 per cent to a median of $196,400, while house values rose 0.6 per cent to a median of $269,196.

It’s a similar story in Townsville, where vendors are offering discounts of 7 per cent for houses and 8.3 per cent for units. Home sales in the city are 1.2 per cent lower than a year ago, while unit values are down 4.1 per cent to a median of $213,888.

Corelogic Asia Pacific research director Tim Lawless said the drought had affected the housing market significantly in Outback Queensland and parts of Central Queensland.

“The drought has had an economic impact, particularly on the agricultural sector and as a result there has been economic weakness and higher unemployment, which impacts housing,” Mr Lawless said.

On the bright side, he said many of the markets affected were showing signs of recovery, which meant it might be a good time to buy.

“For prospective homebuyers, now is probably a great time to be looking at some of these markets, where you are paying the same sort of money you were 15 years ago,” he said.

But Mr Lawless warned buying in these regions was not without risk.