Townsville piquing interstate investor interest

The Townsville property market is luring in investors thanks to interest rate hikes and rising prices in the southern cities, a local property expert has said.

LJ Hooker Townsville principal Clinton Wallis said Townsville was on the cusp of a wave of syndicate investment with his office receiving weekly inquiries from groups seeking low-rise residential opportunities.

“In the last 24 months, prices have returned to what they were pre-GFC, but there’s recognition that they’re improving, and investors are wanting to get in now,” he said.

“Every week I’m fielding phone calls from Sydney and Melbourne from investors seeking four, six and 10 block units.

“Our prices are a quarter to one-fifth of what they’d pay for equivalent properties in Sydney and Melbourne.

“Interest rates have dented investor confidence in Sydney and Melbourne but yields are still holding up in Townsville because our market has been recovering, not booming.”

Mr Wallis said he recently listed a duplex in Oonoonba with two new 12-month leases returning $570 per week.

“With an asking price of $450,000, it offers an investor an annual return of more than 6.5 per cent,” he said.

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This duplex on the market at 26 Keenan St, Oonoonba, has potential to net an investor solid returns. Picture: realestate.com.au

According to the latest REA Market Trends report units top the list when it came to the best indicative gross rental yields in Townsville.

The top performing suburb was Currajong, with a gross rental yield of 10.27 per cent for units, a median sale price of $162,000 and a median rent of $320 per week.

This was followed by Cranbrook, with an indicative gross rental yield of 9.79 per cent for units, and Hyde Park (9.34 per cent).

Rounding out the top five were Pimlico (8.43 per cent) and Railway Estate (8.37 per cent).

The best performing suburbs when it came to houses were Heatley, with a 7 per cent indicative gross rental yield, Vincent (6.86 per cent), Thuringowa Central (6.78 per cent), Cranbrook (6.64 per cent) and Rasmussen (6.6 per cent).

Article source: Queensland Property Investor