While most of last year’s best performing suburbs were in mining towns and inner cities, some of the areas that have seen massive increases in rents and property prices are markets that were once predicted to struggle.
Golden Beach, one of the country’s top 30 best performing capital growth markets last year, remains one of the biggest surprises, being on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast – a property market most property pundits predicted at the beginning of last year to remain in free fall.
The Sunshine Coast area, a major tourist destination, was seen to be particularly hard hit by the strength of the Australian dollar, which was discouraging international tourist flows into the region.
Following the October building commencement of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in Kawana, which is now expected to reinvigorate the Sunshine Coast property market, places such as Golden Beach are looking up and the property indicators look promising.
RP Data figures show that in the 12 months to January 2013, Golden Beach unit prices spiked 26%, although rents increased just 1.6%.
It has been a similar story in Cairns suburbs Holloway Beach and Mooroobool. Also relying heavily on the international tourist industry, most of Cairns property prices were expected to remain flat, with deep dips forecast for areas on the outskirts of the city.
Holloway Beach proved such forecasts wrong over 2012 as unit prices jumped 15% and rental yields hit at an attractive 6%.
Mooroobool experienced house price growth of 13%, a $41,000 increase in the median price.
Other surprises included North Booval, a suburb within Ipswich, Queensland. Home to one of the highest mortgage default rates in the country, few Ipswich markets were expected to see growth. However, North Booval house prices climbed 46% in the 12 months to January 2013, according to RP Data.
What affect recent flooding will have on Ipswich property prices over 2013 will be a source of debate over coming weeks.
The 12 suburbs:
|
State |
Suburb |
Median Price |
12 month Growth |
Gross Rental Yield |
|
QLD |
NORTH BOOVAL (H) |
225000 |
46% |
6% |
|
NSW |
WEE WAA (H) |
140000 |
33% |
n.a |
|
QLD |
COOMERA (U) |
418650 |
31% |
6% |
|
NSW |
GULGONG (H) |
282500 |
31% |
6% |
|
QLD |
GOLDEN BEACH (U) |
315000 |
26% |
5% |
|
VIC |
SHEPPARTON (U) |
225000 |
16% |
5% |
|
QLD |
HOLLOWAYS BEACH (U) |
195000 |
15% |
6% |
|
TAS |
HUONVILLE (H) |
296500 |
14% |
5% |
|
QLD |
NAMBOUR (U) |
258500 |
13% |
5% |
|
QLD |
MOOROOBOOL (H) |
370000 |
13% |
5% |
|
TAS |
QUEENSTOWN (H) |
77000 |
12% |
9% |
|
QLD |
JUBILEE POCKET (H) |
435000 |
12% |
5% |
Source: RP Data, Jan 2013. **Results excluded markets with yearly sales of less than 20 houses or units.
