mining towns

Hi All,

Have a look at my blog (link below) it might give you an idea of where to invest for the long and short term. Chinchilla has an alarming ration of construction V operation workforce, be sure to do your research on that. Remember, not all mining is the same, Coal mining is completely different than Coal Seam Gas. Just because billions is being invested in a region doesn’t mean it is a good property investment region.

Look at the workforce ratios, length of employee contracts, accommodation requirements/standards etc. Project Environmental Impact Statements will provide a lot of this for you.

Coal mining is a lot more stable employment than Coal Seam Gas

Coal Seam Gas is sort of like the 2nd grade stuff of Coal mining….shorter period and life + less profit and demand ( even though it’s in the media quite a bit)

Regards
Michael

Of course there are always those who get in before it hits the news, but if you invested by the theory of once it is news its too late you would struggle to find many good investments.  Sometimes investors are not in a financial position to jump on early announcements, and others may be less risk tollerant and like to forgo some profit by sitting back early on to ensure these announcements come to fruition first.
There are many regional towns that have been written about but continue to grow year on year. What about South Headland, Karratha, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Gladstone, Townsville etc etc. Sure some towns like South Headland are now too expensive for investors looking for value, but look at places like Broken Hill/ Dubbo that have seen their median house prices rise by 8.6% over the past 5 years. I have read about these towns before, but to say its too late with median house prices around $215 & $250 respectively is a bit rich. Good luck finding any town with potential with houses around $80,000 (as Chinchilla did in 2003).
Just my thoughts

I have just invested in Derby, Western Australia. Inpex was proposed previously as being based there and as everyone knows this is now being piped to Darwin.

Growth in Derby is still going strong based on Govt services that are being relocated and also the new 150 million dollar prison being constructed. My tip is if the state govt is moving resources there then others will follow.

Government services are leasing 5yr plus 5yr options at an average of $1000/ week and still there is massive demand for houses/units.

Derby still has the chatter about the deep water port at Point Torment that was pushed by the premier and knocked back by Inpex but with the issues at James Price Point near Broome is highlighting Point Torment as one of the favored locations after feasibility studies by the state and federal governments.

There is also talk of relocating some defence infrastructure to protect the LNG resources in the Browse Basin.

Curtin Detention centre is also a major contributor to the town economy and is still full of people seeking asylum. Ther Immigration Minister claims that Curtin will be the first detention centre to go however a 9 million dollar central kitchen has just been completed.

Worth a look and for any investor wishing to take the risk in a mining/remote service town.

Keep up the talk as it is great to hear everyone’s thoughts.

Brad

A must read!

Fantastic article mate cheers for sharing. With that ammount of money being pumped in I'm not sure doom and gloom talk of the property bubble burst applies in these areas.

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Fantastic article mate cheers for sharing. [/quote]

No worries – enjoy the read.

It is apparent many of us have heard of the mining activity happening but how many people really appreciate the values involved.