Balanced market to remain

AS WE welcome in 2016, I have been regularly asked about what the property and land development market will do this year. I certainly don’t have a better crystal ball than anyone else, but I do get to see more facts and figures than most. It has been well reported that Cairns is doing pretty well. We have had a very good tourist season and look to be backing that up with growth in our passenger numbers through the airport. We have had a pretty good cane season and retail has just been holding its own. No question we would like more jobs and more significant projects. It is on record that we have been overlooked in favour of other regions by our politicians and we need them to deliver infrastructure projects that will help create confidence. Properties for sale has generally decreased a little from previous years’ highs, new land is being developed. Cairns appears to be in a pretty balanced market – not a sellers’ nor buyers’ market; and no real risk of a boom or bubble on the horizon. Our building approvals are improving. My view is that 2016 will build on the gentle improvements we saw in 2015, and that with low, stable interest rates and lots of options, it’s a good time to be buying, building or selling real estate. Adam Gowlett general manager, David McCoy Homes THE commercial hub of Portsmith, idyllic Kewarra Beach and busy Cairns City have topped the list for the most expensive places to buy a unit in Cairns.