Is now the right time to buy in Toowoomba?
QLD’s flower capital has been the highlight of recent media reports and also has some massive infrastructure spend happening, but does this mean that it is over cooked and time to look elsewhere or get out?
We were working the Toowoomba market again in 2012 when it barely had a pulse. At the time some of our clients got in and got some good properties. From end of 2012 it began to move and have some action. By mid 2013 it was in full swing with good buying still to be had.
By early 2014 the mainstream media was tooting about Toowoomba and by this time the developers and marketers had their new estates and selling house and land to interstate investors. Just like every other town in QLD it seems…
So what about now?
Does Toowoomba still have merit?
My answer is totally yes! But not the cookie cutter stock in new estates by marketers; you have to pick your areas!
We have just secured a block for a client, on which we will be building a duplex. The whole job is around $600,000 (so approx $300,000 each unit) and this puts them in a position of under market value compared to other like properties.
The key to this process was finding the right block of land. It took us months of searching with our builder to get the right cost effective block. I like this block because it is close to town and surrounded by older properties that give a great mix of character, just like Toowoomba should. It is not in a new estate with all new homes and all rented.
When the media is talking about a suburb and in the news, it’s generally not the best time to buy. Toowoomba will have a long lead time for some of the projects like the range bypass and the new airport, before the realisation of their benefits are fully experienced.
So don’t just take the media hype and buy anything, you still need to be targeted on your approach. For us Toowoomba still has potential and we simply have adjusted our buying habit over the past 24 months to accommodate the change in the market and the different price dynamics within it.
I will keep you posted about this project from when the build starts to when we get it rented, so you can better understand this regional powerhouse.
Happy Investing!
2 Comments.
I’ve been living in the Toowoomba area for the past 11 years and yes their seems to be some merit in what this person is saying, ‘However’?? I would take extreme caution in the hype of the Toowoomba property market. Yes we did see some great residential growth for individuals but now 2017 we are seeing more and more corporate growth and lower levels of individual growth in the the housing market. Prices where due to fall mid 2017 so they can be adjusted to incomes but we still have not see anything yet. Toowoomba may be on the move but it seems only one sided (the corporate sector) and I can produces at least a handful of economists that can prove this anytime. Be careful.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for stopping by. You have dig up an old article there as it was posted over 2 years ago. So I think it is safe to say we are both singing a similar tune. I believe there are better places to buy as of right now, than in Toowoomba. Since this article was posted there has been further growth, but like all things, cycles happen and we have moved on to other locations at this point. Toowoomba will always be on our radar, and we will be back when the conditions / cycle / times change once more.
Thanks for your comments and have a great day.
Scott Northcott.