TOWNSVILLE- Investing in new house and land package

Hey PJevans. I can’t specifically help you with the suburb of Hermit Park. Looks central with mater hospital, large shopping centres around and close to city. I don’t think you can go too wrong with Townvsville in general but it would pay to ring a few different agents in TV to make sure the suburb is not full of Dept of housing etc. It all depends on exactly what your are after in investing?. For me rental returns are not at this time a priority but more so capital growth. You will normally see yields increase with capital growth. Many regional areas can have positive geared property but it doesnt mean it will go anywhere in the future. Without capital growth you are going to find it hard to continue investing in further property if thats what you are after. I will also recommend stockland North Shore to you as I will get a referral gift if you buy there, Ha Ha. What I use to gauge growth is major property players in certain localities especially in QLD.

A couple of days ago stockland bought another shopping centre in Townsville for $35 million. Look at all the new estates in Townsville V Cairns?? Look at sunshine coast and toward ipswich with every major developer busy in the mix. Every big player is at work because they know the developments will sell because of increasing populations and good growth factors continuing for the foreseeable future. This can’t be said for NSW and VIC. I don’t know much about Cairns other than holidaying there but I would be very hesitant to buy purely in a tourist hub. For me buying into North Shore Townsville new house/land package with everything you ever need at your fingertips is hard to beat and if thats in your price range you would be mad not to consider it.
regards

Good points PJevans the more views to hear the better. This is how I see it from my research and stepping foot in TV. If you are after an established suburb I think you can’t beat Kirwan which is the biggest and probably the most popular suburb with families. Its out near Lavarack Barracks, the Uni, Hospital etc with many schools, large shopping centres and the ring round nearby. I also found it hard to change my way of thinking as to the makeup of large regional cities as say opposed to Sydney, Melb etc. There is almost nil public transport as the motor vehicle rules. Living close to townsville CBD I believe does not hold that many advantages for residents as many do not work in the CBD. Believe me the ‘cbd’ is not what I would call a city centre such as major capitals in fact I found it to be quieter pedestrian and traffic wise than the outer suburbs of Townsville. Directly across from Hermit Park on the eastern side of the Ross River is ‘the village’ oonoonba which is 3K’s from the CBD. The new land lots are not really any more expensive than say north shore, Bohle Plains Kalynda chase or Mount Low. This is in contrast to large capital metro cities which you pay a premium to be near the CBD or inner suburbs. Also the same goes for the beaches of Townsville price wise are not like other big cities. Go swimming there and you may not come out again?. But you will pay a premium to buy a new land lot around a man made lake say Idalia (fairfield waters) which has many walking/bike tracks right around the lakes attracting a certain lifestyle which you will pay for if you have a water view.

Obviously the town has grown dramatically over the decades and the council has pushed most of the new development toward the north west corridor as you can see on google maps toward bushland beach, burdell etc. The actual city centre as such is pushing west where the majority of people will live and have access to everything at a short driving or walking distance. Whilst I drove around TV the traffic in the afternoon from the army barracks heading west on the ring road was extremly heavy combined with the Uni. All heading west and north away from the CBD area not due to cost but land availability and easy access of the bruce hwy and airport.

Some 4000 new arrivals are making their way into TV every year, each and every year for a long time. They are not keeping up with new houses and accommodation for these people even though many brand new apartments built in the CBD remain unsold as they are looking for new houses to buy and rent. This people include thousands of FIFO’s who only need to access the airport and have no need to go into the CBD area. I would suggest you make a trip their first and look around before buying. Townsville as a whole will no doubt get good capital growth over time as long as the suburb or area is a quality suburb with good access to everything be it close to the CBD or 20 minutes out of the CBD. Many 1st home buyers can get into the market for under $400K new house and land and many more are probably happy to rent. But at some stage the land price will increase as houses are built a long way from access to the large employer hubs and the airport. good luck with your venture.