BARGAIN SUBURBS
Core Logic lists Babinda and White Rock for the region’s most affordable homes
IT IS full of acreage blocks complete with babbling creeks, fresh air and great communities, but the south of Cairns is also home to the city’s best property bargains.
Data from CoreLogic to October 2018 has revealed Babinda, 45 minutes’ drive from Cairns CBD, offers the most affordable homes in the city with a 12-month median house price of just $220,000.
The rural locality, home to just 1253 people, is also a wise investment, growing at 5.4 per cent the past three months and 22.2 per cent in the past year.
White Rock came in second place with a median price of $292,500 with both suburbs listed in the top 10 most affordable places in the Far North.
White Rock property lost value, dropping 5.6 per cent over the past three months and 1.3 per cent in the past year.
Woree, Manoora and Gordonvale rounded out the top five with positive or nil growth in the middle of last year.
RE/MAX Cairns principal Tony Williamson said plenty of supply on the southside of the city meant the region was primed for bargain hunting.
“It’s a pure matter of supply and demand, on the south side the Great Dividing Range goes away from the coast so there is more land but in the north there’s only a narrow strip,” Mr Williamson said.
“In Babinda, you can get properties for 40 per cent of price you’d pay.
“Cairns people are not used to that long commute but if they are wanting to buy their own house, they can see the value on the southside, and if they’re prepared to make that commute and live in a more relaxed setting, they might be looking at places further south like Babinda.”
Manoora, Manunda and Mooroobool also featured and Mr Williamson could not heap more praise on the “unfairly maligned” M suburbs.
“If I had to pick where you would have the best capital growth in Cairns, it’d be the M suburbs,” he said.
“Mooroobool has got, I think, the most $1 million-plus properties in Cairns, then on the other end it has the most affordable. I have no issues with the M-suburbs.”
Further afield, East Innisfail topped the list of the wider FNQ region’s bargains with a 12month median price of $165,000.
Innisfail Estate comes in at number eight with a median house value of $279,000.
Tully was a standout, improving 71.2 per cent over the past three months to a median house price of $222,500 and posting a 30.9 per cent jump over the past year. Look for your dream home in Saturday’s real estate liftout