All Topics / Help Needed! / Bowen Basin QLD Mining Towns – Opinion on offer

Viewing 20 posts - 121 through 140 (of 410 total)
  • Profile photo of fingerscrossedfingerscrossed
    Participant
    @fingerscrossed
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 81

    Hi again

    I just rang an agent at Moranbah Real Estate and asked him if there were any available rentals and he answered no and told me he had a waiting list of 80 people.

    I was told the same by Elders.

    I suggest that if anyone is serious about buying property in Moranbah that they make a few calls to suss out the area themselves.  

    I see it going the same way that Dysart has gone and thats UP.  Rent and house prices.  I have just increased the rent on a house i bought in Dysart less than 6 months ago from $650 to $950.   Not one complaint !!

    I'm loving the Bowen basin :-)   

    Profile photo of eyes2theskyeyes2thesky
    Member
    @eyes2thesky
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 11
    BuilderBob wrote:
    melhart wrote:
    Hey guys,

    I've actually been eyeing off Moranbah for awhile now. We used to live in Mackay so we had a good idea of what went on out there (company's leasing houses for miners) and the higher rate of rent charged.

    I've found this thread very interesting – thankyou to all who have contributed. And it has fired up this Moranbah IP idea again.

    So i've been doing some research and talking to the local council and real estate agents – and can someone share with me what in the world is going on out there? It may be just RE agents trying to get me excited – however i've spoken to a few in Moranbah and a few in Mackay who concentrate on Moranbah properties and there is NOTHING available to buy or even to rent! I'm being told that the properties are hardly on the market for a couple of days before they are gone! Some don't even make it to realestate.com. I was told by one RE agent that there is another shopping centre being built shortly and a new school (however the council didn't confirm this part) to cope with the growing population from the new mines being opened. Apparently one mine is being opened just near the BP on the ouskirts of town.

    So are these RE agents pulling my leg, or is demand far outweighing supply right now?

    Sorry I call BS on what they are telling you.
    Just out of interest who is actually feeding you such details , I hope it's not Donny from Century 21 or those Elders girls who are to lazy to drive out to Moranbah.
    Sure there is are things in the pipe works going to happen , but the fact is there are many houses on the market in Moranbah and some have been sitting idle on the market for months.

    Rentals are about but they are asking a lot , this being the reason they are vacant.
    example:
    08/09/07  $580 / Week – 13/08/08 For Rent $875 / Wee
    94 MILLS AV, MORANBAH 4744

    22 LESLIE DR
    16/04/08 For Rent
    $900 / Week

    Property for sales remain in fairly good amounts with just a quick look, I note in just a small area:

    3 in Oxley drive
    3 in lawrence st
    5 in Archer drive
    3 in Belshore st

    My sister in law worked as PA for Don Agnew last year…… she didn't have anything bad to say? However, i guess she's seeing him from a different perpspective….

    But anyways, no it wasn't him. It was mainly RE agents in Moranbah. And those that i did call who were based in Mackay were actually in Moranbah at the time of calling! Trying to pick up some new listings.

    And those properties on realestate.com – already called about all of them – all sold within 48hrs – they are a bit slow to update the status of them unfortunately…..

    I too have noticed some idle and not selling…. however these are the properties were vendors are asking $500k+ (i saw one for $750k – i think somebody's dreaming) for really nice new houses. What company wants to lease a nice house to miners who couldn't give a hoot about looking after it?

    My brother-in-law is actually working out at Dysart at the moment and he has caught wind of a rumour that they are thinking about building a nice airport at Moranbah for the miners to fly in and out…….. hmmmmmm….. what will the effect be on rental returns and capital prices if that happens? Just a rumour, but i'll be keeping my eye on any Moranbah news just in case……

    Profile photo of BuilderBobBuilderBob
    Participant
    @builderbob
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 131

    Donny is fine , I'd be disappointed to find it was him , he has sold a number of houses for me in Mackay over the years.
    I cannot say the same about a number of female staff from Elders.
    I honestly feel it's simply agents talking Moranbah up, and of course there are now triple the amount of agents around compared to a few years ago.
    It seems every man and his dog are agents since prices sky rocketed.

    I have heard no reports of airports but I feel it could possibly damage the market in such areas if it was to happens.
    I know most trade people commute via airplane to Hamilton island each day and that's just a few minutes away.
    With the amount of accidents on road due to miners , they will be pushing for safety and air planes could help.
    Group flying is cheap and I'm sure there will be a good market for it with many small airlines jumping on the wagon.

    Profile photo of DaedalusDaedalus
    Member
    @daedalus
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 140

    Hi guys,

    There's already an airport at Moranbah isn't there? An airstrip at least. It couldn't take a jet, but it takes the regional turbo props.

    Deadalus

    Profile photo of fingerscrossedfingerscrossed
    Participant
    @fingerscrossed
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 81

    Yep, there already is an airport at Moranbah – they are talking about doing an upgrade

    Profile photo of BuilderBobBuilderBob
    Participant
    @builderbob
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 131

    Thats correct  but it needs an upgrade and is unable to cater for larger planes.
    Years back I commuted back and forth but flights were limited due to only a small amount of planes servicing the area.
    With so much activity in the area I'm sure it would be far more viable for airlines to service the area.

    Profile photo of BenEdanBenEdan
    Participant
    @benedan
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 5

    Hi Guys,

    I've been reading this forum with interest for a while now. Thanks for the fantastic info and for your willingness to share it. I'm probably too late for this market but I'm going to start contacting agents today. I'll let you know how I got on.

    Cheers

    Profile photo of DaedalusDaedalus
    Member
    @daedalus
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 140

    Hi BenEdan,

    It's never too late, there is always opportunity. Analyse carefully, strike swiftly.

    I've had a question posted on my blog about building in the Bowen Basin, that sounds like something that BuilderBob might know about. Bob?

    The other question I had on my blog was about Capella.

    When I visited Capella at the beginning of the year, there was a bit of development going on (i.e. about half a dozen houses), which is more than I saw in the more isolated towns. So I guess its proximity to Emerald helps from a building perspective.

    From a mining perspective, there is a mine on the road out from Capella towards Tieri, but from memory there aren't that many.

    Capella did come up early in my research because it had pretty good advertised yield at the time, but I think it was more a factor of it being a remot-ish rural town with a mine in the area, meaning depressed house prices at the time, rather than a booming mining town that was short of accomodation. There didn't seem to be much there that would put upward pressure on property prices. Nice town though.

    Daedalus.

    Profile photo of sandy.vgsandy.vg
    Participant
    @sandy.vg
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 19

    Hi all…very interesting comments above. And great inside knowledge too! Thanks!  Im also just starting considering mining towns as a potential $ maker with property so thanks.
    A thought tho alongside all the property and investment info and considerations…what considerations/issues might be expected to be thought aboud due to the council amalgamations happening in QLD? 3 councils of those areas (Nebo, Belyando and Broadsound) are amalgamating into one..Isaac. Other councils amalgamating also in other areas. Not sure yet what effect this will have on current rules etc as my work is taking me into these fields very shortly and hope to know more first hand later but maybe keep an eye on this website for info..especially zoning and other developments etc that may change at first thought off my head?
    http://www.localgovernment.qld.gov.au/?id=4461

    Cheers

    Profile photo of mick_bockmick_bock
    Member
    @mick_bock
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 1

    Hello Daedalus,
    My girlfriend and I have invested in a house not 12 months ago now and the price, both rent and sell, appears to be going through the roof. Today I received a phone call from our new real estate agent who has just had a tenant sign a lease for a 3 b'room house for $900/week with the contract to be reviewed in 6 months for an adjustment to $950/week.

    A college of mine and myself are looking to purchase some property in or near Clermont as there is some quite substantial works currently underway by a mining company by the name of Waratah Coal (www.Waratahcoal.com). This Canadian company has been exploring the available resources between Clermont and Alamac known as the Galilee Basin. The development extends to a new port north of Rockhampton. We understand that the total expenditure is in the order of $5.5 Billion (including some Government input).

    Have you seen any any development, or any information, out the Clermont way, such as the massive round-a-bout (clearly visible on google earth), that may indicate that this development is actually going ahead?? We have been keeping an eye on the markets and it appears that waratah coal has dropped almost 50% in value and we were wandering if this venture was still being worked on.

    Mick

    Profile photo of DaedalusDaedalus
    Member
    @daedalus
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 140

    Hi Mick,

    Well done on your property, is it in Dysart? If so, you might be interested in this:
    http://www.yourprojectnews.com/news_item.php?newsID=10084

    I think that might put more pressure on Dysart the rental market in the medium term…

    With regard to Clermont, I haven't really been watching it. I was aware of the Waratah announcement a few months ago, but I don't scan for news on Clermont, so have probably missed any significant news about it.

    For what it's worth, I'd be surprised if Clermont rentals ever approached those of the more remote towns like Dysart. Clermont is on the highway, and is also a significant rural centre. Mining is just part of it's economy. However, not necessarily a big part.

    When I visitied there I got chatting to a publican (as you do). He told me that many of the workers on the Blair Athol mine were fly-in-fly-out via Emerald. Also, since the accomodation was on-site, and they were regularly  breathalised, there was not a lot of flow-on economic benefit to the town. This corresponded to my observation of the town (which felt more country town than mining town), and made sense of the lower than expected yields.

    Hope this helps,

    Daedalus.

    Profile photo of AramAram
    Participant
    @aram
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 1

    Hi everyone,
     
            Just wanted to know what your thoughts are on the town called Blackwater? I've been looking at a few properties there so any thoughts would help. 

    Daedalus, how do i go about getting a pest and building inspection done?

           Aram.

    Profile photo of DaedalusDaedalus
    Member
    @daedalus
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 140

    Hi Aram,

    Have a look back through this thread and you'll find a few references to Blackwater, like this one https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/help-needed/4323195?highlight=blackwater&page=5#comment-177578.

    The quickest way is to use the search feature at the top of the web page.

    WRT building and pest, I don't know of anyone in Blackwater, however the yellow pages or asking the real estate agent are good places to start. Each report will probably cost you about 400 bucks.

    Daedalus.

    Profile photo of BenEdanBenEdan
    Participant
    @benedan
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 5

    Hi,

    Here is a short article on the ABC news site regarding property prices in Moranbah http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/11/2361546.htm?site=tropic.

    My understanding is the higher end of the market is for the newer houses and you can still pick up an older house in the $400's. Is this correct?

    Cheers

    Profile photo of DaedalusDaedalus
    Member
    @daedalus
    Join Date: 2007
    Post Count: 140

    Hi BenEdan,

    Yes I believe that is correct. Moranbah seems to have broken through the threshold that makes new development viable. At one end of the town there are a lot of homes built within the last few years, and these are the most likely to be pulling the $$$ mentioned in that article. You can still get highsets and lowsets cheaper than that.

    On the subject of Moranbah, this is interesting…
    Housing explosion for Moranbah ammonia plant employees

    I wonder if this is a sign of a shift back to employer-provided housing in the area. Remember that this is how Mornabah began.

    It makes from a development point of view, since they have construction teams in the area already, and removes some of the accomodation uncertainty for potential employees of the plant.

    It is interesting because although it means that these employees won't directly impact the demand for housing in Mornanbah, they will impact the need for services – which is good for the growth of the town. 58 homes indicates 58 families, which would increase the town population by a couple of percent.

    It also means that even though these new houses are being built, they probably won't impact the free property market because they are all reserved for staff.

    If history repeats, they may be sold off to employees for significantly discounted prices in a future down cycle….

    Daedalus.

    Profile photo of Matt007Matt007
    Member
    @matt007
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 259

    Sorry if this has been asked before: but what do those with local knowledge see as the drivers in Bowen itself re demand for product etc? Is it resi, commercial, industrial? Reason I ask is I note a lot of spruiking and articles on Bowen detailing all the 'potential' etc but I'm curious as to the reality of it from those on the ground. I'm in Brisbane and have no opportunity at present to go and visit..if it's an area worth getting into what sector do people think would be sound to invest in or pursue?

    Cheers
    M007

    Profile photo of BuilderBobBuilderBob
    Participant
    @builderbob
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 131

    Yes there has been lots of hyping Bowen lately on the TV,  mainly around and by the new Whitsunday Shores area.
    Personally myself that area for me is to far out of Bowen , and I cannot see the sense to live/invest in that area.
    Sure there is a go golf course going in but hhhmmm that talk has been going for a long time.
    Most of the activity is on the north side of Bowen , and why would you want to drive half way to Proserpine.
    Currently Bowen is way over priced , I have some close friends in realty in Bowen who also 2nd that .

    I've currently been working out at Abbot Point with Coal Stream Alliance and QR and I can confirm there is a massive amount of work in progress. At this stage there seems be not a great lot of demand for commercial, but resi rentals are in demand.
    I do a large lot of work for a number of developers in Bowen and they are constructing and selling new homes like hotcakes.
    I have done little work on the south side of Bowen and what I have has been budget work , not a good sign.

    Profile photo of Matt007Matt007
    Member
    @matt007
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 259

    Thanks Bob, kind of what I thought.. lots of large blocks of land coming onto the market via agents with blue sky price tags and loads of 'potential'.. if resi is in demand and the houses are being sold/occupied, then the cycle usually follows that commercial/industrial to support the new residents may be on the horizon..I'm not interested in buying an investment property there just to be clear, i'm more interested in development opportunities.
    Thanks for the feedback, good to hear from someone on the ground.

    Profile photo of fishngymfishngym
    Member
    @fishngym
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 49

    G'day guys,

    Me and the misses bought a property out at Blackwater a couple of weeks ago after reading the info in this post. Moranbah and Dysart were out of our price range and Blackwater offered the best return for the amount of funds we had to play with.

    Thanks for the info guys. We've taken a gamble, but as the saying goes. 'You miss 100% of the shots you never take'

    I'd be interested in chatting to anyone else investing out at Blackwater.

    Cheers
    Marc

    Profile photo of cmcdavecmcdave
    Participant
    @cmcdave
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 2

    gday all

    what are the areas in se qld that we could get a cashflow positive return, i should probably check previous posts, but time is short during day, unfortunatly work calls,

    cheers

    cmcdave

Viewing 20 posts - 121 through 140 (of 410 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.