Mine town property still stars

MINING towns still dominate property values with staggering growth of up to 4000 per cent within 10 years.

Moranbah

MINING towns still dominate property values with staggering growth of up to 4000 per cent within 10 years.

Queensland's dusty mining towns of Dysart and Moranbah are among the nation's top performers for growth in house prices, with medians rising a monster 3992 per cent and 1919 per cent between 2002 and 2012.

Ten years ago, savvy home buyers who bought a house in Dysart for the $11,119 median would now have a property worth $455,000, according to RP Data figures.

Similarly units in towns close to the mining action also recorded phenomenal growth, with Gladstone, Woree and Gladstone City topping the list.

In Gladstone City, the median unit price has jumped a whopping 490 per cent from $73,000 to $430,000.

Western Australia has also recorded stunning property growth in its resources regions. Median house prices have climbed 900 per cent in Baynton in the 10 years, 500 per cent in Port Hedland and 250 per cent in Dampier.

The nation's more salubrious digs have chalked up less impressive results. Vaucluse in Sydney, where the median house price is $3.3 million, recorded 55 per cent growth over the same period.

Despite Queensland's stellar performance in mining regions, RP Data research director Tim Lawless told a real estate masterclass last week that the Brisbane market was underperforming but starting to head in the right direction.

"Transaction volumes remain well below average,'' he said.

In other real estate news, property prices across the nation are proving a boon to renters wanting to own their own homes with it now cheaper to buy than lease in a record 388 suburbs across the country.

The RP Data Buy vs Rent report analyses the difference between monthly mortgage payments and monthly rental payments based on the median value of houses and units.

The data shows that there has been a 63 per cent increase in the number of suburbs where it is now cheaper to pay a mortgage than pay a landlord - only 238 suburbs fit the criteria back in August.

For renters wanting to take the plunge, it is great news. For those prepared to pay an extra $50 a month more than their current rents and take a variable home loan, the number of suburbs on offer jumps even further to 1419 suburbs.

Unsurprisingly, across the capital cities, it is typically apartment-style housing where it is more affordable to purchase than commit to the dead money or a rental due to lower property prices.

Queensland offers the majority of suburbs and towns with 147 locations where it is cheaper to buy than rent, although most are located in regional areas including Mackay, the Darling Downs, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Brisbane accounts for 42 suburbs, most of which are located in Logan and Ipswich.

New South Wales has the second highest number of options with 88 suburbs across the state where a mortgage is cheaper than renting. Units in Enmore and Rushcutters Bay are among the surprises.

Mr Lawless said the combination of soft property prices and discounted mortgage rates had combined with high rents and low rental vacancies to cause many renters to make the switch.

"In some suburbs buying may actually be cheaper than renting, especially where we are seeing evidence of tight rental markets resulting in rental increases," Mr Lawless said.

"For many renters, now may be a good time to either re-enter the market or buy their first home."

Victoria supported just 17 suburbs where it is now cheaper to buy than rent, although only three of these were close to the Melbourne CBD. The rest were in country towns including Mildura, Bendigo and around the Wimmera.

In South Australia and Western Australia, there were 48 and 44 suburbs and towns respectively, while in Tasmania and the Northern Territory there were 30 and 11.

With The Courier-Mail