Cairns Property Market In Recovery Mode

 

Construction on the move - Cairns Base Hospital

 

There is a new buzz about Cairns with lots of good news surfacing for the economy. Most of us are taking this news in with a cautious optimism, things are still very shaky for many businesses and families but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, we have much to be thankful for. We have had the most glorious summer up here. Cairns is lush and green having a perfect balance of generally light rains and plenty of sunshine for the entire wet season. It came as no surprise to find that domestic passengers at the Cairns Airport are achieving record highs with a growth of 7.9% in volume in the past 12 months. Unemployment is at its lowest rate since December 2008.

Open Home numbers are really exciting…particularly for properties advertised well. I have not seen these numbers since 2006 and I tell you, as real estate agents, it is such a thrill to see the numbers back! I recorded 86 people through one Forest Gardens Open Home… People were lined up all the way out to the street. This was a house that had been on the market for 5 months. Two adverts, and bang! Five offers in one day! It was priced to meet the buyer’s market. Though the residential sales volumes are increasing, it clearly remains in favor of the buyers. Cairns is still officially languishing at the bottom of the property cycle.

 

 

We appear to be experiencing a bit of what I call, a “Change-Of- Guard” with buyer profiles. Many Cairns residents have lost their jobs recently, particularly Government workers. Many are packing up and leaving town. Speak to any removalist. Replacing them, we are finding a phenomenal number of new faces from Adelaide, Darwin and WA. Kind of exciting for the town!

Medium houses prices came in at $354,000, a rise of only 1.7% since December 2011. Medium prices for units dropped to $170,000 in December, 6.7% lower than December 2011….still in trouble. The news keeps getting better for residential investors with rentals still critically tight as the result of ongoing demand and no new supplies on line yet. The vacancy rate for houses was officially 1.5% during January, while units sat at 1.9% with an overall trend of 1.7%. Relief is on the way for tenants with building approvals for housing up an incredible 36% compared to 2011. Unit development remains pretty much non- existent with developers still trying to offload stock built before the GFC. For a full report click on the Cairns Watch Report.
 

It is still a very tough market but confidence is clearly building. Lots of bargain hunters coming forth from the south with some ridiculous low offers. Some score, many are getting frustrated. Many have left their run too late. Competition is building for well priced properties…This market is getting really exciting, but we won’t crack the champagne just yet!

Have a great week, Debbie