Unit values fall 19.8% in Wide Bay Burnett as investors preferences shift to houses
The largest drop in the value of units in Australia has occurred in Wide Bay Burnett, Queensland, according to a report released by RP Data.
Unit values in this area have dropped 19.8% since the market peaked in 2007-2008, with fewer units now for sale in the area.
The Wide Bay Burnett area, including Bundaberg and the Fraser Coast, is well known for established agriculture and tourism industries, with access to whale watching and Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island.
Tim Lawless, national research director at RP Data, says the largest declines in property values have been recorded across the coastal and lifestyle markets, such as Wide Bay Burnett, and these declines are more concentrated across unit dwellings within these regions.
Rae Vella, principle estate agent at A1 Realty, Wide Bay Burnett, puts the decline down to an improvement in the rental potential of houses in the area.
“Investors are going towards houses more than units because the rental return in better,” she says.
Vella says property investors looking to lease out properties make up most of the buying market in Wide Bar Burnett, contributing to the fall in unit values.
She adds that the few units that are listed with A1 Realty have tended to have been on the market for long periods of time, causing owners to reduce the asking price.
“Some units that have been on the market for quite some time have come down in price,” she says.
Current units in Wide Bay Burnett are listed at between $149,000 and $285,000.
Recent unit sales in the area show price falls - though not as much as the headline figure. The sales have included a 2-bedroom unit on King Street, Bundaberg North, which sold for $229,000 in March. The unit had previously sold for $235,700 in February 2011 and $233,000 in March 2009.
A three-bedroom unit in Svensson Heights is currently listed for sale with an asking price of $299,000, the same price it was sold for in May 2009.
Other areas that have experienced a significant drop in property value include Far North Queensland, the Barwon region of Victoria and the Gold Coast, Queensland.
