Mackay units on a roller coaster ride: Herron Todd White

Mackay units have been on a roller coaster ride over the past five years with a large number of smaller duplex, triplex and quadpruplex units competing with large scale unit complexes, according to Herron Todd White.

Herron Todd White's September Month in Review noted during the planning and construction phases, the market in Mackay turned quite sharply and quickly on the back of the downturn in the resource industry.

"Standard residential vacancies some two to three years ago were below 1%, and now hover just over the 9% mark. Rental values have reduced significantly on the back of this reduced demand and fallen in some instances up to 40% from previous highs," the review mentioned.

"In the past 18 months, there are another five highrise towers recently completed or nearing completion within the CBD or fringe locations: Rivermarque; Riviera Mackay; Carlyle Apartments; Pacific Sands; and Gateway Apartments. Rivermarque is a new eight level residential unit tower located within the fringe of Mackay CBD.

"Most of the new completed units in the CBD were purchased off the plan in 2012 prior to the fall in the Mackay market. It will be interesting to see when resales occur the level of demand and prices that can be achieved in the current market."