Cairns market report*
The
Cairns property market continues to progressively recover, however, the
market recovery has not been uniform across all areas of Cairns. Median
land price trend is rising and so are airport passenger numbers due to
the high number of domestic passengers.
Property prices
Median
property prices for houses and land in Cairns have escalated over the
last three years, with the median house price trend rising by 4.9% over
the last 12 months to reach $390,700 in November 2014. The median land
price has increased by 8.3% over the same period as a result of land
price escalation particularly on the Northern Beaches, to reach a
tentative $208,900 in November 2014. However unit prices continue to
struggle, with a tentative downward movement of 3.6% over the 12 months
to November 2014.
We
keep saying that the property market recovery has not been uniform
across all areas of Cairns, and here's the proof. Recovery to date has
been strongest on the Northern Beaches, where the median house price has
risen 22.3% over the period from the December quarter of 2011 to the
December quarter of 2014, and is now 8.7% above its 2007-08 peak. At the
other end of the scale, the median house price in the Southern Corridor
has risen only by 7.0% over the same period, and remains 5.0% short of
its 2007-08 peak. Median house prices in the other two areas of Western
and Central Cairns have risen by 16.1% and 13.8% respectively, and have
both moderately surpassed their 2007-08 peaks.
Property listings
The
volume of property for sale has steadied in trend terms, with house and
unit sales now seeming to occur at a similar pace to which they are
coming onto the market. The trend in the overall number of property
listings has reduced by 29.1% from the December quarter of 2011 through
to the December quarter of 2014. Even though this means new property
listings have matched demand in the latest quarter, agents are still
reporting a lot of potential vendors holding back to wait-and-see what
happens to prices over the next 12 months.
Rental prices
Rent
levels increased during the latest quarter for the larger categories of
housing (3BR-4BR houses, 3BR units), but remained stable for the
smaller dwelling categories (1BR-2BR units, 2BR houses). Over the twelve
months to December 2014 the Cairns weighted average median rent has
increased from $370 to $385 per week for houses, but remained unchanged
at $270 per week for units.
*Source: Herron Todd White Jan 2015
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