Mildura – thoughts on a new villa opportunity?

Hi,

We're currently looking around for our first IP.  A friend is currently buying a new villa in Mildura and is suggesting we buy in the same development.  Though I'm only starting my research, I've got my reservations on the numbers already.  The property is $240K for a newly built 3-bd villa – expected rental return is $250pw, so only ~5.5% yield.  I would have thought around 8% would be better for a regional area.

From my research into Mildura iteself, I've come up with the following info:
-the town is growing at a reasonable rate, with around 50000 people in the greater Mildura area
-there's some good infrastructure projects, particulaly the marina and solar station going on
-industry is largely agricultural (and supporting industries) and could be tied to the drought and health of the Murray-Darling basin (the govt buying back water rights now may reduce agriculture a bit as could the drought if it continues). 
-there is a number of other industries including mineral sands mining, transport/logistics and tourism which diversify this risk a little
-i'm told the vacancy rate is very low by a few agents though there do seem to be a no of outstanding rental and sales around.  i notice this lot of ~10 villas has opened for sale a couple of months ago and still has a no of unsold units.

Overall it seems like a reasonable area to invest in, albeit maybe not a "hot spot"

I'd like to hear any other people's thoughts on the investment and Mildura – this is all still very new to us, so any or all comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks!