Investors are showing interest in the Ipswich region as it has been named one of Queensland’s real estate warm areas.
Founder of hotspotting.com.au Terry Ryder listed Ipswich as number four in his list of Queensland’s Hot Spots.
It beat out Kelvin Grove, Logan, Redcliffe, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Townsville.
Mr Ryder, a long-term real estate market watcher and writer, said while the city has been known as a growth centre for some time, government investment, low prices and new transport infrastructure meant now was the time to invest in the city.
“The Ipswich corridor is now well-known as a growth region,” Mr Ryder said.
Prices rose strongly in the five years to 2009 (before tapering off), giving the suburbs of Ipswich City the strongest capital growth averages in the greater Brisbane region.
“Ipswich has shown strong growth in the past but we believe its evolution into a headline hotspot of national standing will continue well into the future,” Mr Ryder said.
“There remain many suburbs that are attractively affordable for first-home buyers and investors on a budget.”
The affordability of Ipswich homes was a big selling point for Mr Ryder, alongside its massive investment and development, such as
the Ipswich Mwy, Orion shopping centre and the RAAF base Amberley’s expansion. His opinion was backed up by REIQ Ipswich zone chairman Darren Boettcher who said property investors were moving on Ipswich properties.
“They’re outstripping first-home owners at the moment. We’re selling houses over the phone. We’ve had one were the buyer hasn’t even it seen it, he’s had a look on the internet and that’s enough for him.”
Mr Boettcher said the affordability of properties in Ipswich, in comparison to the inner-suburbs of Brisbane, meant there was a strong return on investments.
“Because the yields are so low in Sydney and Melbourne, and to a lesser extent Brisbane, it means a lot of people are looking to places like Ipswich to invest,” he said.
He said investors looked to established suburbs for rental properties, while first-home buyers were more often buying in newer suburbs like Springfield or Deebing Heights.
Original article published at www.qtnew.com.au by Geoff Egan, 30/8/2014