Gladstone's mining-related property boom over: Michael Matusik

The major acceleration of growth in the Queensland mining super-hotspot Gladstone is over, according to property investment advisor Michael Matusik.

He says while there is still some growth to be had, the major acceleration is now finished and investors might have missed the boat.

“Gladstone is a good example of a market that’s when everyone wants to buy now,” Matusik told Smart Property Investment.

“Yes, you can buy a good asset in that cycle, but the generic push behind the market is probably exhausted and is slowing down the acceleration. You generally want to buy when the acceleration is beginning to happen.”

Matusik put Gladstone at between nine and 12 on the property investment clock, meaning growth is slowing and values could stagnate.

Hotspotting.com.au founder Terry Ryder echoed Matusik, saying the savviest of investors were already in the market 12 to 18 months ago and are now selling up leading to high sales volumes.

“If you buy there now you may still get some growth, but really you’ve missed a lot of the growth that’s happening in Gladstone over a five year time span... An investor who does proper due diligence and research would have identified Gladstone in advance of the growth we’ve seen over the last 12 to 18 months,” Ryder says.

He says there were early indicators of the size of the mining projects in the area which led to his early identification of the town as a hotspot.

“I have included Gladstone going back six years, but certainly two to three years ago, in my reports.”

“What a smart investor will be doing, such as in the case of Gladstone, is seeing the media is talking about it and that there’s been a 20% price rise… and then looking for the next Gladstone instead of buying in.”

“But now it’s no longer a future hotspot it’s already hot.”

He says there are numerous upcoming mining projects which give ample opportunity to get in ahead of this curve.