MORE and more people are finding out what locals have always known – Cairns is a great place to live. Australian Bureau of Statistics research released yesterday reveals that in the 12 months from June 2005, the population increased 3.2 per cent from 128,666 to 132,765 people.
The city experienced the fourth largest growth in the state behind Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ipswich.
“Cairns is a desirable place to live,” Mayor Kevin Byrne said. “We have a good quality of living, an international airport 12 minutes from the city, growing education sector, wonderful public facilities and a tourism industry that shows steady growth.
The ABS figures show more than 76,000 people moved to the Sunshine State in the 12 months to June 2006. Of them, 25,800 moved from interstate, 21,400 from overseas and 29,200 due to a natural increase. More than 20.6 million people now call Australia home, up by 265,700 people on the previous year.
Cr Byrne forecast more people would continue to discover the lifestyle Cairns offers.
“My word. There is no indication that any time soon development growth will slow down,” he said.”Cairns will keep growing.”
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Coast property set for take off as West’s wild ride ends.
“Perth’s property prices may be landing but we are just taking off – again”.
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that Queensland is leading the nation with house prices increasing 3% in the December quarter.
PRD research director Tim Lawless said that it is the largest quarterly increase since the 2003 boom. He said that the Gold Coasts median house prices certainly beat Brisbane. For the June quarter 2006 the Gold Coasts median price of $411,750 was second only to Sydney.
With 2007 dubbed “the year of the bypass” (Tugan bypass) demographer Bernard Salt was quoted as saying the Coastlink bypass would establish a rapid increase in population and property prices. (I have a unit at Tugan and am eagerly waiting for the completion of the bypass and resultant effect on prices to have it revalued).
Source: The Courier Mail
SOUTHERN Cross University is set to establish the country’s first cross-border campus, with plans to build an initial $20 million campus next to the Gold Coast Airport.After an unsuccessful bid to gain approval for expansion of its overflowing Tweed Heads campus, the university’s vice- chancellor, Professor Paul Clark, has been given the green light to pursue the cross-border project.
“This is an exciting prospect for the university,” he said. “The buildings are only a starting point. The site location is ideal for growth and expansion down the track and the transport infrastructure will be a major attraction for students with the Tugun bypass and rail link.”
The southern Gold Coast and Tweed are expected to cash in on the economic bonanza with the campus uniquely straddling the NSW and Queensland border, making it the first of its kind in Australia.
More than 14,000 students attend Southern Cross University campuses across northern NSW and many of them travel from the Gold Coast to study in niche courses, with the university boasting one of the best marine science centres in Australia.
Source: Gold Coast Bulletin
TROOP numbers in Townsville will swell by more than 1500 as part of a multibillion-dollar strengthening of defence bases in northern Australia. The National Security Council last week approved $206 million to fast-track refurbishment of Lavarack Barracks ahead of the relocation of Sydney’s 3rd Battalion to the city in 2010.
Townsville’s credentials as the nation’s premier defence base also will be bolstered by the deployment of a squadron of MRH-90 helicopters – the most advanced troop-carrying helicopter in the world. The new helicopters, to be built in Brisbane, will replace the existing Black Hawk helicopter fleet.
Up to 1000 new homes will be needed in Townsville to accommodate the defence force’s consolidation in north Queensland.
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THE Perth house price boom has ended and Sydney has fallen deeper into the red as the property downturn continues to bite, with analysts predicting months more pain for homeowners.
In Sydney, median house prices fell 1 per cent in the quarter – reversing slight gains made earlier in the year – as the impact of last year’s three rate rises was digested by the nation’s weakest property market.
“We expect Brisbane will lead the housing recovery over the next two years,” BIS Shrapnel senior analyst Jason Anderson said yesterday. “Brisbane is where rental growth has been strongest, it’s where pressures are greatest and I think that’s showing up in this price growth.“
Mr Anderson said Perth prices were likely to fall 1 per cent this year because that market had “overshot” during the boom.
Macquarie Bank head of property Rod Cornish said interest rates were expected to remain on hold this year as inflation pressures eased. And he predicted the Reserve Bank would probably cut rates early next year in an attempt to stimulate building activity in the floundering NSW and Victorian markets.
Source: The Australian
A string of multi million dollar developments and massive investments from state and local government has transformed Robina from a suburb of vacant land to one of the Gold Coasts leading hubs.
Developments include the $200 million expansion of Robina Town Centre (shops), the $160million rugby league stadium (new home of the Titans), $75 million extension of the railway line and the $40 million expansion of the Robina hospital to include accident and emergency.
Councilor Jan Grew was quoted as saying “commercial buildings are growing out of the ground like mushrooms”. The government has announced a $15 million bus terminal to handle the estimated 4,000 per hour when events are on at the new stadium.
The adjoining suburb of Varsity Lakes is a master planned community which will comprise over 3,000 homes housing 7,800 residents and 4,500 employees.
Source: The GC Bulletin
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SYDNEY is in the grip of a second property crisis with the supply of new houses falling to levels not seen since 1975 and research forecasting rents to rise by as much as 40 per cent within two years.The results of a study, by BIS Shrapnel, has shown construction of new homes in Sydney has hit an historical low, rivalled only by the slump of the mid 70s.
Coupled with housing affordability, low to middle income earners are being warned that prices are likely to spike again within four years with “steep price increases”.
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ANZ senior economist Ange Montalti said the rate of housing approvals in December would translate to the completion of 137,700 homes if continued over a year. However, migration and the formation of new households means there is underlying demand for about 168,000 new homes a year.
“Housing market tightness is expected to intensify over 2007 as the supply of homes continues to run well below demand,” Mr Montalti said. He said this would generate higher house prices and rental levels, while vacancy rates would remain very low.
Source: The Australian
The latest Queensland state accounts show continued baseline strength with a revised economic growth increasing to 4.4% for 2005/06. In comparison, national rate of growth is sitting at 1.4%. Deputy Premier and Treasurer Anna Bligh says faster growth in the business sector, housing investment and consumer spending have all contributed to Queensland’s stronger economic growth. “Business investment in Queensland surged by 20.5% over the year to September 2006,” she says. “That compares with business investment growth of 0.4% in the rest of the country. That means that Queensland’s rate of business investment is 50 times that of the rest of Australia.”
Over the year to December 2006 trend employment increased by a total of 97,100 people with 92,100 of those being full-time jobs. “Despite containing less than 20% of the nation’s population, Queensland accounted for more than one-third of national employment growth in 2006 and over 43% of full-time jobs growth,” Bligh told Parliament this week.
Queensland’s trend unemployment rate reached a generational low of 4.1% in December 2006, substantially lower than the 4.7% recorded in the rest of Australia.
Source: QBR
DWINDLING affordability looks set to force more first home buyers out of the property market in 2007, paving the way for an investor-led recovery. The tighter the rental market, the more scope investors have to raise rents. This is particularly beneficial for investors who bought during the upside of the previous property cycle in 2001-03 when capital growth was strong and rental returns were 3 to 4 per cent.
They have now held their properties long enough to experience the second phase of the cycle, when capital growth has slowed but rental returns are firming around 4 to 5 per cent. With improved cash flow, they are in a solid position to buy again and take advantage of the next full growth cycle. This cycle began in the second half of 2006 and will start to accelerate in 2007.
A change of trends in rents and interest rates will also influence this investor-led recovery. In 2006, rents rose and interest rates did too, so there was no impetus for investors to re-enter the market. In 2007, rents will continue to rise because of the growing first-home-buyer affordability crunch. However, it’s probable that interest rates will stabilise or, ideally, fall.
The Reserve Bank must take decisive action to reduce interest rates if there is to be a sustained improvement in these figures.In turn, lower interest rates will further improve cash flow, luring more investors back into the property market.
Source: theage.com.au
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