Gladstone a top city for real estate sales growth

The Harbour City has been identified in the top seven regional cities in Queensland.

Luxury property 25 Clipper Terrace, South Gladstone is for sale.

GLADSTONE has been identified as being in the top seven regional cities in Queensland, with five or more suburbs recording positive growth in real estate sales.

The news comes as the rental market tightens, rents rise, and vacancy rates are less than one per cent.

The regional Queensland real estate market is the strongest since hotspotting.com.au’s founder Terry Ryder began surveying quarterly sales six years ago.

The Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone and Townsville have all been identified as the top performing regional cities.

Smaller regional centres including Gympie, Emerald, Warwick, Kingaroy and Dalby are also showing positive trends, Mr Ryder said.

Mr Ryder said Gladstone’s re-emergence as a growth market was notable, after half a dozen years in downturn.

“Gladstone continues to deliver evidence of recovery from a lengthy downturn, with median house price growth in suburbs such as Calliope (10 per cent), Clinton (12 per cent), West Gladstone (18 per cent) and Tannum Sands (11 per cent),” he wrote on propertyobserver.com.au.

Mr Ryder’s views have also been echoed by local agents, who say “the only way is up” for Gladstone’s property market.

Agent’s have told The Observer it is now cheaper to buy than rent in some Gladstone suburbs due to record low interest rates.

John Fieldus has been a real estate agent in Gladstone for 32 years, and has seen several “booms” and “busts”.

The Ray White co-director said houses were selling quickly and stock did not equal demand.

“The Gladstone market has always gone through cycles, boom and bust times,” he said.

“At the moment the market has bottomed and is on it’s way up.

“I expect we will see an influx of buyers from Sydney and Melbourne.”

The Observer has been told of several properties that have sold within a week of being listed.

Locations Estate Agents director Alicia Williams said whether you were buying your first property or investing, the time was ripe to buy in the region.

With limited stock, Ms Williams said houses were selling within a month or less.

“There are people coming directly to Gladstone, Mackay and Townsville from Sydney or Melbourne, but also we are seeing people from the Sunshine Coast relocate here,” she said.

If demand continues, which Ms Williams said all indications at present show it would, the Gladstone market was in for a strong short to mid-term future.

“Investors are looking to put their money into bricks and mortar because the return in a bank is almost non-existent,” she said.

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