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Gday All,
I’ve emailed the spreadsheet to all addresses above this post. Anyone else that’s interested can download the spreadsheet from:
http://www.fastcontrols.com/pi/Regional_Populations_WA.xls
The spreadsheet shows population numbers and growth in all 10k+ WA towns over the last decade.
An interesting observation is the towns with fluctuating or declining populations offer the best opportunities for finding CF+ IP, this however isn’t really surprising.
The information came mostly from the web sites below which are worth investigating as there is much more detailed information available on specific regions:
http://www.regional.wa.gov.au
http://www.planning.wa.gov.auHope it helps.
Cheers, Chris.[
]Gday Barry,
I’ve produced a spreadsheet showing population numbers and growth in all 10k+ WA towns. Post your email address and I’ll send it to you, unfortunately tables don’t post well on this forum.
Over the past decade Geraldton shows a -0.5% p.a. population growth although a rise is forecast through to 2016. I think it is probably one of the best investment locations in WA that has a fluctuating population.
If you’re interested it could be worth emailing [email protected] and getting added to her mailing list for the monthly investors gathering in Perth (see her post above). Tonight there is a presentation from somebody in Steve’s MAP.
Unfortunately I cant make it to these meetings as I work in the evenings, but if you’d like to catch up some other time let me know.
Best regards, Chris.[
]Hi Peter, thanks again for your posts.
To summarise:
• Towns with fluctuating or declining populations present advantages, predominantly higher returns and a greater number of investment opportunities.
• The risks of reduced rental income, vacancies and depreciation are also higher.As you point out some of these risks could be reduced by investing in premium properties and locations.
I’m starting to feel that a crystal ball may be necessary for successful long term investment in these areas and that they probably wouldn’t be an ideal learning ground. Investing in areas with steady or growing populations greatly reduces the risks, although investment opportunities are fewer.
As experience is gained and the tolerance for risk increases the riskier options should probably be reconsidered, though I imagine that they would only ever represent a small percentage of the total portfolio.
On the other hand they may be excellent places to jump start a property investment portfolio? Does anyone out there have significant real estate holdings in towns with fluctuating or declining populations? Comments from anyone else?
Cheers, Chris.[
]Thanks for your detailed reply peterp.
My preliminary investigations into Kalgoorlie indicate that there are potential CF+ investment properties available!
Kalgoorlie’s negative population growth is the only thing making me hesitate. The average population growth over the last 10 years is +1%, however population growth only increased early in the decade, it has declined for the previous 7 years and at last count was negative (pop. growth 2001: -1.2%). Real estate prices have declined avg. 4.5% pa. 1999 – 2002, although in 2003 they increased 13.8%.
Research into other WA towns has shown that CF+ investment properties are far easier to find where there is a fluctuating or declining population and much more difficult to find where there is a steady or growing population.
Is a stable or consistently growing population essential for successful CF+ investment properties? What are your thoughts/experiences on investing in a town which has experienced some negative population growth? Does a declining/fluctuating population present great investment opportunities or should these areas be avoided like the plague?
Cheers, Chris.[
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