Hi Everyone,
As a part of my business development I will be travelling through all of the regions that are set to experience growth with this next mining boom. I will look all through the Bowen Basin & Surat Basin, the two regions with strong deposits of Thermal/Coking Coal as well as the future extraction of Coal Seam Gas. Usually I just fly into an area, do what I have to and head out, however this time I will be driving and taking all the time I want.
I already have strong knowledge of many of these areas as I have investment properties in Central Queensland and have lived there for a number of years previously. I will be using my contacts in the mining companies to further identify areas that accommodation will be an issue for them in both the short term and long term. I will be looking for areas that have potential for high rental and capital growth. Also assessed will be the long term viability of each area, ie the construction workforce compared to the long term workforce.
As a property investor I will be doing this for my own investments & also for the company that I head up, Portfolio Property Investments where we provide investment opportunities for our clients in these regional areas that they may find it difficult to do it effectively due to being time, knowledge and resource poor.
A lot of my time will be focused on building new properties (House & Land, large and small townhouse developments and subdividing house blocks) however I am here to answer any questions that people may have, any suggestions while I’m on the road and even happy to find out specific information that people request.
Finally I will be assessing the companies that are investing in Regional Qld, where, why and how long for and the specific details of these companies in order to help people make informed decisions when it comes to investing in these areas.
You can follow in a lot more detail on my blog for this trip http://ppiqldtour.blogspot.com/ or just ask questions or leave comments on here.
I hope this can help people in their concerns, questions
Hi Josh, and thanks for this offer to share information. I am currently investing in the Bowen Basin, and have been progressing on a contract for an off-the-plan unit in a development in Middlemount due for completion late September. I am planning to purchase two more suitable properties in the near future, with a preference for new properties which will qualify for the Queensland builder's boost. I will check out your blog and follow your progress with interest.
Also…as I said i will be looking for development opportunities, however I will not be able to do EVERY project I find so JV partners / Syndication partners are welcome to have a look at what I find as well.
Hi Josh,
I will follow your travels and on-the-ground research with interest. I’d be very interested to see what’s happening out near Alpha regarding building of properties geared towards the investor if your heading out that way…?
Just off the cuff Josh, I’m thinking of installing new air conditioning units in a property in Emerald. Are you able to recommend a reliable brand, advise of the cost of the unit and cost to instal, and perhaps someone trusted you have experience in dealing with who could supply and instal for me?
Appreciate your help.
Jack
JT7 wrote:Hi Josh,I will follow your travels and on-the-ground research with interest. I’d be very interested to see what’s happening out near Alpha regarding building of properties geared towards the investor if your heading out that way…?
Just off the cuff Josh, I’m thinking of installing new air conditioning units in a property in Emerald. Are you able to recommend a reliable brand, advise of the cost of the unit and cost to instal, and perhaps someone trusted you have experience in dealing with who could supply and instal for me?
Appreciate your help.
Jack
Hi Jack,
Alpha is on the map, especially with so much about to happen out there with 3 potential mega mines, i really want to find out where that will impact as its up in the air still with local councils. I’ll get on the ground out there and see what’s really happening.
In regards to aircons…in emerald Fujitsu are the best for that climate however they are twice the price as what I have used a lot which is Kelvinator…very good brand, no problems and cost effective. However I am building 4 units in Emerald at the moment and the builders electrician is using a different brand which comes out of the Kelvinator factory called TECO. A bit better on the hip pocket again but very smooth running and reliable. Being a bit cold there now i would imagine you aren’t in a hurry to get this installed? I can ask the electrician and plumber that will be doing mine if they can do yours while they are there if you would like? If the timing suits and they are happy to I’ll pass their details on to you.
Cheers,
G'day Josh
I am currently looking at properties in Chinchilla, would look forward to your thoughts and comments on this area.
CheersRod
reggie5005 wrote:G'day JoshI am currently looking at properties in Chinchilla, would look forward to your thoughts and comments on this area.
CheersRod
Thanks Rod,
Chinchilla will be visited very shortly, not to far from me actually (Noosa Heads) compared to the other towns. Im excited about seeing chincilla actually. I have met with Shell / Arrow energy who are large players in the Coal Seam Gas in this area so will be interesting to see what can happen here.
Will report back!
Portfolio PI wrote:JT7 wrote:Hi Josh,I will follow your travels and on-the-ground research with interest. I’d be very interested to see what’s happening out near Alpha regarding building of properties geared towards the investor if your heading out that way…?
Just off the cuff Josh, I’m thinking of installing new air conditioning units in a property in Emerald. Are you able to recommend a reliable brand, advise of the cost of the unit and cost to instal, and perhaps someone trusted you have experience in dealing with who could supply and instal for me?
Appreciate your help.
Jack
Hi Jack,
Alpha is on the map, especially with so much about to happen out there with 3 potential mega mines, i really want to find out where that will impact as its up in the air still with local councils. I’ll get on the ground out there and see what’s really happening.
In regards to aircons…in emerald Fujitsu are the best for that climate however they are twice the price as what I have used a lot which is Kelvinator…very good brand, no problems and cost effective. However I am building 4 units in Emerald at the moment and the builders electrician is using a different brand which comes out of the Kelvinator factory called TECO. A bit better on the hip pocket again but very smooth running and reliable. Being a bit cold there now i would imagine you aren’t in a hurry to get this installed? I can ask the electrician and plumber that will be doing mine if they can do yours while they are there if you would like? If the timing suits and they are happy to I’ll pass their details on to you.
Cheers,
Hi Josh,
Yeah mate no huge hurry to get them in and if your electrician is happy to do so and has time it would be very convenient.
Cheers Josh I appreciate that.
Jack
Hi Everyone,
Gladstone is the first stop for Wednesday, will be meeting with local agents and property managers (if anyone has personal favorites I’d love to hear from you) will be looking at some new estate as well as a couple of small development sites at this stage. I’m looking forward to also seeing what Reno opportunities are there and assess the viability due to a potential lack of trades with builders etc.
Hi Josh,
you are doing what I'd love to be doing myself if I had the time. I've been thinking about investing in either the Bowen Basin or Surat Valley now for almost a year and I'm ready to do something. There are possibilities for buying properties off the plan in Middlemount and Dysart that would give a 10 to 11% rental yield. The only draw back is that there is a body corporate.
The development in Dysart is for 24 appartments.Which do you think is the best investment location in these regions? In Surat Basin I've been investigating Roma and Chinchilla. Roma has a better rental yield but some people are saying Chinchilla has much more potential for capital growth.
In your opinion, which is the best location to buy in either the Surat or Bowen Basin areas taking both rental yield and capital growth into account? It seems that the Surat Basin has much more potential for capital growth than the Bowen Basin. One thing that has made me a bit reluctant to invest in property at this time is the belief that we face a major stock market crash before the end of the year. If that happened, I'm wondering how that would affect investments in these regions.Steve
StevieC wrote:Hi Josh,you are doing what I'd love to be doing myself if I had the time. I've been thinking about investing in either the Bowen Basin or Surat Valley now for almost a year and I'm ready to do something. There are possibilities for buying properties off the plan in Middlemount and Dysart that would give a 10 to 11% rental yield. The only draw back is that there is a body corporate.
The development in Dysart is for 24 appartments.Which do you think is the best investment location in these regions? In Surat Basin I've been investigating Roma and Chinchilla. Roma has a better rental yield but some people are saying Chinchilla has much more potential for capital growth.
In your opinion, which is the best location to buy in either the Surat or Bowen Basin areas taking both rental yield and capital growth into account? It seems that the Surat Basin has much more potential for capital growth than the Bowen Basin. One thing that has made me a bit reluctant to invest in property at this time is the belief that we face a major stock market crash before the end of the year. If that happened, I'm wondering how that would affect investments in these regions.Steve
Hi Steve,
I love regional Qld, i have lived there before and there are just so many opportunities! My first question is are you after capital growth or rental yields? if you had to choose which one would it be? Also what is your time frame for holding a property are you thinking?
How did you go in gladstone mate, anything intersting you stumbled across? Should we rush in and buy investments there?
Wow no estate land in Gladstone available to investors. Only a select number of blocks for owner occupiers where a legally binding declaration must be made that you are one! This looks like it will change and i have learnt that an estimated 9000 blocks will be released over the next ten years. Well this is councils prediction anyway.
House prices vary when it comes to the 4 bedroom home, I have some meetings tomorrow which will help me work this out as to why.
Add another one to your bandwagon of followers! Very interested in your opinion of Gladstone after your time on the ground.
jamesw82 wrote:How did you go in gladstone mate, anything intersting you stumbled across? Should we rush in and buy investments there?I had to come home (only 4.5hrs away) for a couple of days. and will be going back leaving at 5:30 tomorrow morning. A big blog will come on Saturday I will promise you all that. Along with photos and all!
The H&L packages i cannot get my head around, I guess like everywhere there are companies advertising them with prices all over the place however they differ by 100k here for the same size house pretty much. Gladstone has risen dramatically this year. However it seems more land will come onto the market by the end of the year and even more next year. There are a lot of subdivisions in council presently.
rent for a 550k house is approx $630-$650 per week
if you buy house and land, furnish it, get a company lease for two years and you’ll get approx $800 a week in rent
coalstar wrote:if you buy house and land, furnish it, get a company lease for two years and you’ll get approx $800 a week in rentEven more now coalstar. Apparently at $1000 (an agent rented three out this week). This makes a 9% return in most cases with today’s market value
GLADSTONE CENTRAL QUEENSLAND…..
Okay here’s what I think of Gladstone… Prices are a bit everywhere at face value (realestate.com, agents etc) which is synonymous with many regional centers in QLD. However when you dig that bit deeper you can see the consistency.
There are a few areas of interest:
1. Barney point and South: I looked at two blocks there yesterday. One had just sold, it was approved for 4 x 3 bedroom units. It sold for 410k and still had 100k of headworks to pay! That’s nearly the same price I can buy a house block in other towns for which will receive great growth also. What greeted me immediately in Barney point was a group of locals drinking on the beach at 1pm! The council still own a lot of land obviously as they had commission housing in the area.
I think it’s a great place for High density units (a lot of it is classified as high density already) however for houses I think that people will continue out west in the newer estates with all the new services and shops etc. The only agent that said that the demographics are changing in Barney point is a guy who owns a house there. None the less, in the long term I think Barney point demographics could change.
2. CBD: There are a lot of 2 bedroom units in 4/5 story buildigns being constructed with high volumes of sales around the $450,000 mark furnished. Rental returns of approx $650- low $700 are the estimates for these new ones. There are many more approved sites for developments like these and another 4 in council currently at an advanced stage.
Western suburbs: this is where all the new estates are and are still going, a new woolworths is going right on the edge of town also. The shopping out there is good (approx 10 mins drive from CBD) however if you don’t work in the CBD you don’t need to come in to it all the time. New house and land starts at $500,000 however the standards of these homes are very poor in my opinion. It seems to be around the $550,000 range for a good package which is Val/ market value still. Many people who are spruikng the $500k packages are saying you are getting it for $50,000 less. You’re just getting $50,000 of less house and or land. A $550,000 house will achieve approx $650 per week rent currently, whilst furnishing it seems to be the way to go and achieving $800-$1000. Even up to $1200 if you want to get creative and spend another $50,000 – $ 70,000. some builders are really bad! Especially Vantage homes, they are terrible here and even the real estate agents here warn against them. I feel sorry for the people that have bought some homes based on hype, when they need to resell on the local market the agents don’t even like the house so what hope do they have to get the best return!
I am concerned about the construction workforce still. It has always been my concern and it still is to be honest. In 5 years many employees may not be here. CSG has a very large construction workforce and a significantly lower long term workforce. And the reality is that a lot of people here are a construction workforce. Gladstone has had many peaks and troughs in history as influxes of construction workforces has coke and gone. However, of course it has always gone up in the long term.
There is a lot more land coming on the market, there are currently 4 large unit sites (40+) for public comment with council. I don’t have a doubt they will all rent out. But in 5 years? I don’t know and I don’t think I trust it yet personally for a long term hold. Land has risen from $180,000 last year to $250-$280 currently. The main shortage or residential land is NOW. Which means that land prices could be at or near their ceiling.The mining companies won’t currently rent a house that is older than 5 or 6 years. This is the first time I have seen this as it seems to be unique with the Coal Seam Gas industries. I was also interested in buying an old house and subdividing the block and battle axing. However with strict council zoning for smaller developments this seems harder than previously thought. In light of this, not all rents will soar, only new houses or units. Yes I am sure they will all go up, but it won’t be port headland where you buy a 3 bedroom dump and rent it out for $1000 +. this seems to only come with the new properties.
Thanks heaps for that Josh! Has definitely answered a few of the questions I had about the area.
Josh,
I’m loving the info you are providing! Seems you are getting a heap of interested followers!
Am also close to buying and after reading a lot about the pitfalls of investing in areas that you are not 100 percent familiar with, can really get you burnt! I have only briefly had a look at your website but what exactly does your company provide that can reduce these concerns?
P.S keep going as I am keen to know what other areas you will be visiting.
Kat
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