Moranbah house prices increase 15.7 per cent in three months

From a ‘very quiet six years’ to ‘amazing’ sales since July, housing prices in this mining town have increased 15.7 per cent over the past three months.

MORANBAH’S residential sales market is finding its feet again after values slumped during the resources downturn.

The latest REA Market Trends report for October shows house values increased 15.7 per cent over the past three months, with Moranbah Real Estate principal Bella Exposito noting a dramatic rise in activity since July.

“Since the first of July, our office has sold 52 properties, which is amazing compared to when we had the downturn and we were lucky if we sold two houses in that time,” she said.

“We have had a very quiet six years in Moranbah.”

2 Chifley Ct, Moranbah, recently sold for $410,000

The slump in sales was due to the downturn in the mining industry, a rise in workers opting for bus or fly-in/fly-out employment options, and inflated housing costs during the peak of the mining boom.

Median house prices have still not returned to that high, remaining 6.3 per cent less than 10 years ago.

However, the market is showing a 102.5 per cent increase on five years ago.

Overall, 154 houses have been sold in Moranbah over the past year, at a median price of $283,500

49 Hannay St, Moranbah, recently sold for $485,000

There are a couple of factors at play in this recovery, according to Ms Exposito.

One is the “prodigal child” twist to the COVID-19 story.

“There are local people, people who have an origin in Moranbah that are returning, kids that grew up here want to live in Moranbah again,” she said.

“People are worried that the price will go up again. We have sold properties from $190,000 to $400,000-plus, and 70 per cent of the sales were home owner-occupier.”

Ms Exposito said rising housing costs elsewhere, along with the trend towards moving to less populated regions, and a desire to “move home”, had all combined to encourage buyers to take advantage of the lower prices.

“It is still very much a buyer’s market,” Ms Exposito said.

29 Flight Dve, Moranbah, is listed for $479,000

But it is also a rising market, with some investors selling up as prices improve, and other investors buying into the region due to the lower prices.

A third group were making the shift to Moranbah, Ms Exposito said, although they were more focused in the rental market.

“With fly-in/fly-out, you don’t see your children for seven or 14 days,” she said.

“We have a lot of people that are moving in now from FIFO, because they are sick of fly-in/fly out.”

Ms Exposito said workers who been separated from their families due to lockdowns and quarantine requirement had forced many to re-evaluate where they wanted to live, adding that

Moranbah had a lot to offer.

“I have lived here for 40 years, I love it,” she said.

“Everything is close by, a five-minute drive to shops and schools, and it is friendly town, where everybody knows each other and looks out for each other.

“If you have young children, it’s a family-orientated place.”

Originally published as Moranbah house prices increase 15.7 per cent in three months