Gladstone finally at the bottom of the market: HTW

While the Gladstone market has been declining for the past four to five years, it all seemed to come to a head in 2016, according to HTW’s February 2017 update.

But the valuation firm says despite the years of negative publicity regarding the Gladstone market, the past few months have heralded many positives.

“We are no longer all doom and gloom and it is unlikely that values will drop any further,” the report says.

“Yes, it appears we have hit the bottom of the market!”

There have been significantly increased sales and leasing activity especially in the bottom end of the market and rental levels appear to have stabilised for most market sectors, the firms notes.

The affordability of property in the Gladstone region is the key driver at present with value levels at the lowest they have been in over a decade.

“We are seeing more and more transactions that represent very good value for money."

“Most established housing products are worth below replacement cost which has definitely been a factor in the increased activity.

“While this is good news for the established housing sector, the trend in new construction activity is still declining as in most cases it is cheaper to purchase an existing modern home than it is to buy land and build.”

While the Gladstone market has been declining for the past four to five years, it all seemed to come to a head in 2016, according to HTW’s February 2017 update.

But the valuation firm says despite the years of negative publicity regarding the Gladstone market, the past few months have heralded many positives.

“We are no longer all doom and gloom and it is unlikely that values will drop any further,” the report says.

“Yes, it appears we have hit the bottom of the market!”

There have been significantly increased sales and leasing activity especially in the bottom end of the market and rental levels appear to have stabilised for most market sectors, the firms notes.

The affordability of property in the Gladstone region is the key driver at present with value levels at the lowest they have been in over a decade.

“We are seeing more and more transactions that represent very good value for money.

“Most established housing products are worth below replacement cost which has definitely been a factor in the increased activity.

“While this is good news for the established housing sector, the trend in new construction activity is still declining as in most cases it is cheaper to purchase an existing modern home than it is to buy land and build.”

But the firm warns that while Gladstone may be at the bottom of the market, it is likely to take a while for us to see any uplift in values.

“The Gladstone region vacancy rate still sits at approximately 8% indicating there is still an oversupply of product.

“The vacancy rate is slowly dropping however until it is at least halved, there is unlikely to be any pressure put on the rental market and rental levels.”

A three bedroom house at 59 Witney Street, Telina (above) has been listed for $307,000.

Similarly a four bedroom house at 46 Cockatoo Drive, New Auckland (below) has been reduced to $309,000.

This article was originally published via propertyobserver.com.au on the 21 FEBRUARY 2017