Fraser Coast Property Industry Association hosts forum to prevent Hervey Bay property boom becoming crisis

Real estate boom could become crisis, property forum hears.

The booming Hervey Bay property market is at a once-in-a-generation cross roads.

That was the consensus at Wednesday’s Fraser Coast Property Industry Association (FCPIA) Forum where leaders in the industry agreed action must be taken to stop the flip side housing shortage crisis from worsening.

150 people packed the Beach House Hotel to hear from a panel consisting of real estate specialists, engineers, town planners, and business managers.

Challenges discussed included the significant southern migration to the region, services and skills shortages, rental shortage, homelessness, infrastructure and what the future could like.

The forum heard the boom was first noticeable around November 2020 with housing prices rising by 30 per cent, far higher than expected amid the COVID-19 crisis.

FCPIA president Glen Winney said this boom was largely caused by owner-occupiers moving to the region which was in stark contrast to booms of the past.

He flagged the Dundowran-Nikenbah area which was expected to grow by 211.8 per cent by 2041.

“The bigger blocks are the ones jumping up in volume and in price,” he said.

Mr Winney told the crowd now was the time to talk about how to draw investors back in the market to free up the supply of rentals in Hervey Bay.

Some solutions offered included proactively building infrastructure into areas where new suburbs were planned and finding a way to reduce time consuming legislation requirements.

Mr Winney recognised the drive market to Hervey Bay and said while it attracted tourists, there needed to be marketing to attract property investors as well.

“The final takeaway is everybody is positive about the future, property prices are going up, there are jobs being created and we are about the get a wave of migration from the southern states over the next 12 months.”

Mr Winney also encouraged those in the room that it was up to all of them to make the best out of the current boom.

Originally published as Fraser Coast Property Industry Association hosts forum to prevent Hervey Bay property boom becoming crisis