Movement on property
AFTER a busy few years finding enough properties for sale is the new challenge for Townsville’s commercial property market, according to Colliers Townsville.
The firm’s latest Market Snapshot report finds strong price growth and a significant increase in sales volumes has occurred across most sectors in the 2021-22 financial year.
Notably, the quarterly median price for industrial properties reached $1.3m in the June quarter, a 240 per cent increase from its lowest point at the height of the pandemic.
Across the financial year, more than $445m of sales occurred, an increase of close to $200m from the previous year.
“The local market was already picking up momentum in the lead-up to Covid before the uncertainty put a brief pause on inquiries,” Colliers Townsville Managing Director Peter Wheeler said.
“Since then, it’s been one of
the busiest periods we’ve seen, with record low interest rates and high capital city prices pushing investors into the regions. Townsville’s economy has been going well, so the region has been able to capture a lot of this interest.”
Availability of suitable properties for buyers has now become a challenge for the market with the extended period of high demand reducing the number of quality listings.
Added to this is rising costs and challenges in the construction industry limiting the viability of new property construction.
“We’ve still got investors wanting to buy in North Queensland but finding the properties to sell them has become harder. When good quality stock becomes available, it’s not lasting long,” Mr Wheeler said.
While macroeconomic factors, most notably interest rates, have created uncertainty in the property market nationally and are likely to have some local impact, the report finds the long-term outlook for the North Queensland market is positive.
It says major project commitments, new industry development in the mining and energy fields and building approvals above pre-covid levels all present a strong pipeline of economic activity for the region.