Anyone have property in Cairns??

[woody]

I'm looking to buy an I.P. in Cairns. I have been offered the following

1. Serviced apartment at Central 2 B.R $ 270.000. Rent ??(not sure) OR
2. 3 B.R. house $219.000. rent approx $280.

Anybody have properties there they might like to post some info and advice eg. capital growth city / suburbs, buy a unit in Cairns or a house further out.

Also I would like some contacts as fare as Solicitors / conveyencers, building inspectors and some very helpful real estate agents.

Thanks in advance
Steve

 

[WillG]

you should consider termites, cyclones, air conditioning ....

 

[astroboy]

Woody/Steve,
you should consider........
astroboy

 

[Mike S]

Insurance

Cyclone is a real factor there and you should ensure two things.

1. You can secure cyclone insurance for the property you secure.

2. You factor the cost that may be substansial

I was once advised lan d is the key to the cycle there and where return s are most likely to be?

MIKE S

 

[Brojac]

Termites yes(part of your due dillegence), cyclones (who care thats what insurance is for), Air conditioning is nice and will attract tenants much more quickly.

My partner and I have a 10 yr old unit near a shopping center purchased for $65k rents for $110 p/w.

The carins unit market is slowly creaping up after a glut (soon to happen again) and its now in the $70k range after 12 mths.
Great place to have a look around but I would be carefull whom you rent to. Rent to locals with a track record not visitors is my advice.

Hope this helps

Brojac

 

[Phantom]

Hi Woody,

I have an IP in Cairns, Good earer too!. I built the house for 165000 all up and it now rents out for $240 p/w it is in a good area on the outskirts of Cairns.

I have lived in the area for 6 years and know the area very well.

As for cyclones, nearly every house built up here have to be built to cyclone rating 3 which means they are Very sturdy. There hasn't been a decent cyclone for a couple of years now and insurance policies cover for cyclone damage. NP

As for the market it has been rising quite nicely in most areas, I think Whitfield was rated number 1 growth area in Australia not long ago in some magazine. The general consensus seems to be is that cairns is set to be the next mini boom area in the next 2 years.

Woody if you want some specific questions answered list them and I will do my best, I need to know where abouts this IP is that you have been offered and further info on it to be able to tell you if you are being ripped or not.

Cheers
Justin

 

[Mrs Bird]

Hi Phantom

Inside information from a local in these type of areas are worth there weight in gold for many reasons.

We already have a beachfront IP at Palm Cove and up to a few weeks ago were actively looking at buying a positive cash flow property at one of the northern beaches...Machans Beach, Yorkeys Knob, etc. Many cheap places on the market had to be a reason.

Friend who lived in Cairns told us that these suburbs are built around marshes and every afternoon a swarm of sandflies come in for the night. Also the international plane flight path goes right over these beaches.

Could you tell us what you know about these lesser popular beaches... Would they be a good investment if bought at the right price.

Would Clifton Beach be a better proposition

Mrs Bird

 

[ChrisOs]

Hi All.

I have a townhouse in Whitfield (Cairns), which I purchased 6 years ago. Very bad timing as it has lost about 25% in value over that time. I have read that Cairns values are now on the way up and there is the start of a "mini-boom" underway. "First Syndey, then Brisbane and now Cairns!!" If you can beleive what you read. I hope that Whitfield is one of the fastest growing areas so that I can recover some of the lost equity .

The Brisbane based organisation "Cameron Bird" advertise heavily in API and I have recently received information on postively geared houses that they are planning to build in Redlynch and Park Ridge. According to the advertising, Qantas are having difficulty finding rental accomodation for their pilots and these new homes will solve their problem!

I will be in Cairns in early June and hope to follow up on some of their claims.

Chris.

 

[Phantom]

Hi Mrs Bird and ChrisOs,

Well as a resident in Cairns, I have been researching places to buy and what areas are good and which are bad, also with my career I know what crime happens in which area and how frequently, so I have a different aspect to look from than others.

From what I have ascertained Park Ridge and City View are the better places to invest for good quality houses which attract the more 'professional and rich' clientele. Park ridge is a fairly new development and is still selling land etc. (around $90000 for 700m block) and rising yearly.

Bayview heights and whitfield are also good places to invest, however with every area there are the dodgy pockets, of lower socio-economic people who revert to criminal activity, so do your homework and check the place out before buying.

As for the northern beaches, Palm Cove was recently nominated Australia's cleanest beach, Trinity Beach has shown some growth in the last year but nothing to rave about but is one the nicer beaches and has quite a bit a tourism,.

Machans Beach, Holloways beach and Clifton Beach are the less attractive beaches and have recently shown growth.
There is talk of a road to go through the Esplanade to link these beaches to make them more tourist viable, but I am not sure how they are going with that. However they are built around marshland and are subject to sandflies.

However Palm Cove is a nice area. 25 min drive from Cairns. Golf Course, nice beachfront restaurants.

If you can get a house at Clifton beach at a good price I dare say you would get tenants in it without hassles, however as stated before check them out well (the tenants). Still about 30min drive to Cairns though.

Redlynch is a nice new development, a few of the top name basketballers from the Cairns Taipans have houses there and the growth has been good. There are also a lot of Police who own homes there so it is crime free.

The area South of Cairns, between Edmonton and Cairns is the next boom area, as there is no more room to build north of Cairns the City will eventually spread South and there are some nice developments in the area.

Hope I have been helpful.

Cheers,
Phantom

 

[woody]

Hi Phanton

Thank you (and everyone) for your info on this thread

I have been reading A.P.I. Magazine and they suggest that Edmonton has had a Minus Growth of -12%, thats a bit of a worry.

Do you think that is correct??

Also is Mt Sheridan between Edmonton and Cairns??

Steve

 

[Phantom]

Hi Woody,

Yes Mt Sheridan is the suburb between Edmonton and Cairns, it was renamed and rezoned to cut out Whiterock, it encompassed Centenary Hights, Bentley Park and Centenary Heights.

Edmonton May have shown -12% in the magazine but it does not necessarily indicative of what is happening everywhere in Edmonton. For example my best mate has a 3 br unit in a complex of 20 in edmonton bought at $90 000 2 years ago and had an evaluation last week with intentions of getting another place and it was valued at $120000. Investors are ringing all the time to buy it.

Now something is stirring in the area, I don;t know quite what yet but I am getting my teeth into the pie before it goes off. I hate watching other people but just in the nick of time before a boom and left wishing I had down something. i.e Belmont in Brisbane 2 years ago and Raby Bay apts 4 yrs ago.

Now I am only a novice at this property inv thing but one day I will be one of the big boys like some of the people who post on this very interesting and informative site.

Cheers
Phantom

 

[ChrisOs]

Thanks Phantom.

I received some more detailed information from Cameron Bird and they have 2 developments. One is in Redlynch Grove and the other in Park Ridge.
Redlynch Grove blocks are 600sqm for $70,000 and Park Ridge 700sqm for $100,000 - at least that is what the independent valuation states.

Having had the townhouse in Whitfield for 6 years now, I have noticed that the rental population is very fickle. What I mean is that rental demand is very dependent on the tourist market, even though my townhouse is not a holiday rental. As an example, the Asian currency crisis hurt Cairns quite badly and rents dropped and I had a few weeks vacancy. In 1996, rent was $170/week. It went to a low of $130 and is now back to $145. The demise of Ansett seems to have had only minimal impact and I am not sure what the SARS scare is doing. Leases have typically been for 6 months, with the occasional 6 month extension. Cairns seems to have a large transient population.

Is this consistent with your view or is it very dependent on the type of accomodation?
How is Cairns coping during the SARS crisis?

Cheers,
ChrisOs.

 

[Phantom]

Hi ChrisOs,
That is unfortunate that you have had such a reduction in rent for the unit.

In my view which is as a novice property investor, I agree that there is a large transient population in Cairns however there is a large portion of the population that is static and makes up the Cairns workforce etc etc. So I believe it is dependant on where you buy your unit as to what kind of clientele you will be able to rent to.

Along the esplanade there are a lot of quality units that rent out to 'professional people that are unaffectd by tourism' and there are obviously the units that are suited and utilised for the transient market.

My rental property 3br house with dbl garage, aircon, large patio, fans, security screeens etc has been unaffected by SARS or the drop in tourism as the area and type of house appeals to 'family orientated and professional people, I have a navy couple living in it. It has even gone up significantly in value and rent increases are good.

Now saying this, generally I would say that SARS has had an impact on Cairns tourism, however the big cruise liners still come through regularly and the european tourism market has increased as opposed to the reduction in Asian tourism.

However answering your question "Is it dependant on the type of accomodation?" I would say yes.

If you buy a quality block in a good area with a good house on it, which appeals to the majority, you can't go wrong.

If you are interested in buying in the area give me an email and I can let you know a bit more specific info on the areas in Cairns which are good to invest in and which should be avoided.

By the way Park Ridge is a very nice area, but beware when dealing with people from the adverts in API, I would recommend visiting the sales office up here rather than deal long distance.

P.S I am not an agent or anyway involved in Sales. Just a salary earner in 'professional job' with an interest in making a good property portfolio.

Cheers
Phantom

 

[ChrisOs]

If you are interested in buying in the area give me an email and I can let you know a bit more specific info on the areas in Cairns which are good to invest in and which should be avoided.

Thanks Phantom!

my e-mail address is
[email protected]

I will be in Cairns in early June. Perhaps we can talk "offline" and maybe even catch up when I get to Cairns.

Thanks,
ChrisOs.