Property guide: How much houses in your suburb are worth across Mackay, Isaac, Whitsunday
Mackay average house price climbs to the highest in five years as rental yields soar, but a spike in the volume of land sales places a squeeze on the construction sector.
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Mackay’s median house price has climbed to the highest in five years with houses snapped up within 10 days, while unit rental yields soar.
A huge spike in the volume of land sales squeezed the construction sector creating a skills shortage.
Both the Marian and Blacks Beach house prices recorded the biggest jumps for the past three months at more than 23 per cent with the average listing at $510,000 and $400,000 respectively.
While the Whitsundays recorded the highest median price at $550,000 for the quarter ending December 2020.
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Data from the latest REIQ Queensland Market Monitor revealed the Mackay suburb with the highest number of sales in the past three months was Andergrove with 41 deals done.
It was followed closely by South Mackay on 39 and Bowen on 37 sales.
The suburb with the highest number of sales for the past 12 months was also Andergrove on 146, followed by Bowen on 140.
And the area with the highest median house price in the past 12 months in Mackay was Sarina with 26 sales hitting an average of $527,500.
This was followed by Shoal Point with 26 sales averaging $487,000 and Glenella with 94 sales and a median price of $481,500.
In Mackay a total of 1669 houses and 224 units were sold in 2020, while Whitsunday recorded 448 and 181 houses and units.
Isaac had 204 house sales and 17 unit sales.
REIQ data stated the Mackay region showed a 1.6 per cent growth over three months and a 4.5 per cent growth over 12 months pushing average prices to the highest in five years at $370,000, as an undersupply of listings sparked a competitive local buyer market with most properties selling within 10 days.
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REIQ Mackay Zone Chair Allison Cunningham said the sales market was the best it had been for many years with low stock levels a part of the equation.
“There are under 1000 properties for sale across the entire district, so it’s a very tight market. When stock does become available, it’s only there for seven to 10 days before it has a contract,” she said.
According to CoreLogic, the last time Mackay had a significant undersupply of property for sale was in 2011.
The strength of the housing market is reflected in the sales volume figures, which recorded a 30% jump over the year ending December 2020.
But Mackay unit sales told a very different story dropping 16.2 per cent over the past quarter, with the upshot being some very affordable options on the market.
The price slump is most likely attributed to more affordable unit stock selling.
The average unit price for Mackay is deemed one of the most affordable across all major regions at $188,500, just more than half the average price for the Whitsundays at $300,000.
REIQ’s report described Mackay’s rental market as “woeful” as it moved into undersupply territory. The region’s vacancy rate is now just 0.9 per cent with strong weekly increases being recorded.
The median weekly rent for a two-bedroom unit jumped 9.3 per cent in 12 months to $295, while the average weekly rent for a three-bedroom house is up 6.8 per cent to $395 in the same period.
Robust rises have resulted in unit rental yields soaring from 6.9 to 8.1 per cent in three months, while houses have jumped slightly from 5.1 to 5.3 per cent in the same quarter.
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It seems local buyers in the region were slower than others across the state to take up the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder initiative with land sales taking a while to pick up.
The median price of vacant land in Mackay had a small 0.6 per cent increase in 12 months to $180,000. But the most telling figure was the sharp uptick in sales volume, which jumped 71 per cent from the year before.
This has put a strain on Mackay construction pipelines with a shortage of qualified trades now common.
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Originally published as Property guide: How much houses in your suburb are worth across Mackay, Isaac, Whitsunday
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