Leading the way: National spotlight on coast property market

A NEW property report has named Livingstone Shire in the top 12 affordable regional areas in Australia.

Yeppoon Real Estate director Claudia Coren has welcomed the findings of a new report which shines a positive light on Livingstone Shire's real estate market.

A NEW property report has named Livingstone Shire in the top 12 affordable regional areas in Australia with solid fundamentals for sustainable future growth.

The finding was revealed in real estate leader PRD Research’s latest Resilient Regions report to be released today, and that was music to the ears of Yeppoon Real Estate director Claudia Coren.

“It is fantastic news to shine a light on our beautiful Livingstone Shire and to be noted as one of the most affordable and highly attractive regional markets across Australia,” Ms Coren said.

“With our median price currently sitting at $406,000 for houses, our market is widely affordable for an array of ­buyers such as first home owners, families upgrading and investors, unlike our major cities.”

Ms Coren said over the past six months in particular, rental vacancy rates on the Capricorn Coast had become extremely tight.

“Our current vacancy rate is sitting at 0.8 per cent which is a major drawcard for investors,” she said.

“There has been an influx of rental applications from people moving to our region, lured by our fantastic facilities on offer for families, and our laid-back lifestyle becoming a preferred choice to city living.

“In response to the significant rental demand, rental prices have been increased, giving landlords not only a great return on their investment but minimal vacancy, it’s a win-win situation right now.”

This graph shows Livingstone Shire's area sales and median price.

The in-depth PRD Research Resilient Regions report based its findings on rigorous criteria including affordability, property trends, investment, project development, and the unemployment rate as of the December Quarter 2019.

Livingstone was one of only four locations in Queensland to make the top 12 - the others being Douglas Shire (coastal area north of Cairns), Cairns Region and Tablelands Region (inland from Cairns).

The report found the median price growth in the Livingstone LGA over the past 10 years (2010-2019) had softened for both houses (-1.2 per cent) and units (-29.1 per cent).

On the other hand, it noted there had been market resilience in the land sector (7.1 per cent).

“The Livingstone LGA provides affordable opportunities for first home buyers, with a median house price of $400,000 and median unit price of $241,000 in 2019,” the report said.

“First home buyers are encouraged to enter the market due to the current higher affordability.”

The report found that at December 2019, Livingstone investors benefited from average rental yields of 5.5 per cent for houses, which sat well above Brisbane Metro (3.9 per cent). Units achieved an average unit rental yield of 6.4 per cent over the same period.

In addition, a low vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent was well below Brisbane Metro’s (2.9 per cent) and was considered to be extremely tight.

“Vacancy rates in Livingstone LGA are attractive to ­investors as it provides them assurance of rental properties being occupied quickly,” the report said.

“Livingstone LGA ticks all the right boxes from an investment perspective, making it an attractive regional property market.”

The Resilient Regions report highlighted that Livingstone was set to see a total of $313.4m in project development commence throughout 2020, with commercial projects worth $260.6m of the total value.

“This will have a positive effect on local business activity by creating employment opportunities, which will have a positive spill-over impact on the real estate market,” the report said.

The report stated that a total of $11.2m of residential projects were planned, which would add 242 lots to ­Livingstone LGA in 2020.

“Residential projects like these are vital to ensure ­population growth in Livingstone LGA is sustainable into the future,” the report said.

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