Townsville sits on the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia. Home to a tropical lifestyle and diverse economy, just recently it has been hitting its stride with a significant upward trend in property pricing and strong rental yields. A slew of newly approved infrastructure projects and government grants show there is positive sentiment and backing surrounding the growing city.
This is a welcome change to locals as Townsville has been in a state of recovery for the last 14 years since the great financial crisis in 2007. The same local sentiment has resonated with southerners also, as the city recently has seen a drastic increase in interstate migration. The continuation of this upward trend within the current and emerging economy will provide a great framework to new investors and owner-occupiers alike, benefiting those who invest early.
So what has created this surge of positive factors and how does it affect Townsville's future?
In comparison to other southern cities in the last two years, Townsville has been able to maintain a lot more normality throughout the pandemic than most. One of the subjects that have been heavily criticized during the pandemic was each state’s government's management of the pandemic. The Queensland Government's management of the pandemic allowed Queensland cities to maintain a level of normality to that of other states, and Townsville experienced even more normality than most with minimal lockdown orders. Some would say it was one of the catalysts that helped shed the light on the new appeal and desire of the sunshine state lifestyle to the rest of the nation.
One of the more welcome discoveries of the pandemic that will remain commonplace for the foreseeable future is the mobile workforce, now becoming more normalized with businesses big and small incorporating it. Right now the Australian workforce is more mobile than ever allowing workers to make the move north while retaining their current jobs.
Any Australian who was curious to consider moving to the sunshine state, with a bit of research, would find that Queenlands' median housing prices on average were lower in comparison to its southern neighbors. The first cities to see a significant spike in southern interest were Brisbane, Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast. As prices surge in the larger cities in Queensland, interstate buyers and even locals have found themselves priced out of the market and pushed further north where prices are significantly more affordable.
Much like the bigger southern QLD cities, Townsville has recently seen real estate prices trend upwards with interest from owner-occupiers and investors, local and interstate. Even though prices have been increasing, they are still significantly lower in comparison to that of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast & Gold Coast. Unlike the aforementioned Queensland cities, Townsville has a lower base to come from due to being in a state of recovery for I would consider at least a decade, taking a long time to recover from the GFC.
Before we look further into Townsville, there's one thing that I think is very limited in its appeal and that is the ‘COVID Sentiment’, the trend I highlighted earlier. People are easy to forget and as time moves forward and if normality comes back, people will have less of an emotional reason to move interstate. In the same realm, low housing prices are also limited in their appeal, especially to owner-occupiers. For smaller cities like Townsville retention of the population is paramount for its future growth, things like lifestyle and working opportunities have a huge impact on population growth & retention.
In recent times Townsville has been making significant strides in lifestyle-oriented projects. One of the more notable was the completion of Queensland Country Bank Stadium in 2020, positioned in Townsville's inner city to bolster the CBD as an entertainment precinct with live sporting and entertainment events. Also, the significant modern overhaul on the Ville Casino in 2018, the subsequent refurbishment to the Seaview hotel, the new construction of the Anelay Restaurant, and the opening of Flinders Lane (entertainment & Hospitality precinct), along with recent construction of multiple residential apartment buildings. As encouraging as the above is, it really is only the start of what is to come.
As there is so much to delve into I have attached a link to each Townsville project below. Overall the below projects and developments show promise to Townsville’s future, with the introduction of development for new emerging industries as well as existing ones. There are also commercial projects that will assist the framework for Townsville’s lifestyle and economy for future growth.
It is because of the lower base of housing prices and ongoing future projects of Townsville that I believe Townsville housing prices will take a bit longer to rise and mature. This leaves the door of opportunity left wide open for home buyers as there is a lot of scope for future property price increases.
Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct Project
Vanadium Power Plant Development
The Ville Casino Hotel Development
The West State Hospital Development
Magnetic Island Infrastructure Upgrades
Chris Morris & Errol Stewart Future Tourism & Hospitality Project
Where Military Billions May Spark Housing Market Boom
Photo credit: Neil Chan - Topsnap Townsville