Derby, WA - finally?

anything in Derby will have to take heed of the tides.

that could be the breaker for any future development, as you would need to build lochs to hold the ships while they were loaded.
 
Hi Ausprop

Some recent photos from Derby (King Tide) and the Broome - Derby Hwy in MARCH 2011

Derby has Australia’s highest tides and one of the highest in the world.High tides in Western Australia are:

Derby 11.8m
Yampi Sound 10.9m
Broome 9.8m
Wyndham 8.4m.
 

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Derby.....not in our lifetime.

James Price for Woodside.....multi millions already spent on pre-works and they will not locate to Derby.

Inpex aren't even on the table & won't be for a long while; they won't deal with Barnett after earlier #uckup with him.

I can't say anything more so please don't ask...........and don't believe anything that makes it to print in the WA papers........Broome!!!
 
Ian, you seem to know some things we don't, but accept your reticence to share insider info.

Any views on Hedland and/or Newman?
 
G'day Belbo,

I'm getting a bit nervous with the current drive by WA Govt. trying to massively spruik & 'sell' these Pilbara $hitholes to the public. I mean every second or third day in the media there is some article about the next 2500 lot development out back of bum#uck. 50,000 mining boom rock apes living in Malataga swamp in Karratha.....ROFLMAO!!!

Now there is a degreee of spruiking being underpinned by 'action' eg Karratha highrise apartments being built as we speak to allegedly cater for lower income local employees at K-Mart & Chicken Treat who can't afford the $1200 - $2200 per wk rent for a resi dwelling there currently. I dunno what rents they are going to charge for these places, but the advertised buying pricesof @$600K for a 2br shoebox on the mudflats is ludicrous......I think the 'twin towers' are called Pandanus or something as equally metrosexual for the chai-latte sipping tossers to get giggly over. Maybe Barnett has pushed this through Roebourne Shire in record time just to be seen on TV as having done something tangible. How the #uck this got through Shire / State planning in a storm surge zone is laughable.

No doubt more resi developments are imminent for Karratha, Pt & Sth Hedland, Newman, Broome......but the retail buy-in costs are going to be very high. I'm really not convinced the $2000 per wk rents are going to be around sonsistently for 5 - 10 yrs plus. I believe a dip or two is coming either from a decline in major companies expansions in about 3 yrs time, or by over supply of resi lots by Govt & Developers.

We know large tracts of land have been picked up by consortiums & approved for resi dev in Newman - with a few hundred dwellings already pre-sold to RIO. Remainder will be private sales / builds.

Sth Hedland is also earmarked for large land releases in next two years. Pt Hedland is the better of the two areas, but has limited opportunities for any further large releases of resi developments.

I'm holding onto my IPs in Karratha and will be happy to ride out any possible lull in rents, but I can't see any significant Cap Growth there for some time. Certainly I won't be buying again there.

I'd be more comfortable with Pt Hedland for the short term, or try and get in now with a development in Sth Hedland before the new releases hit the market in next two years.

For a bit of blue sky, lower entry pricing and medium to long term sanf I would be looking at getting creative in Broome.......good things will be happening there I believe.

If you're looking at buying from RE.com.au or out of any of the investment mags you'll do your dough. These markets need thorough, individual research and time spent on them unless your a numpty punter and I've wasted the last 15 minutes writing this.

As i've said ad-nauseum just be bloody careful buying into these places now unless you can do it wholesale, or DIY builds etc.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not negative or bearish.......I just don't like the idea of treading in bear $hit in my double pluggers.

Do your own research, make up your own mind..........

Ian.
 
G'day Ausprop & All,

Derby.......no LNG hub; maybe some port facilities.....too far for Woodside / Browse. Inpex are not in picture for a long time.

Barnetts' spin on Pilbara cities was for affordable, sustainable pricing & rents.......pricings for these Karratha snot boxes are not affordable or sustainable for your average retail / commercial / admin type worker in Ktha. Don't know what the rents will be, but I at an outlay of min $600K, as an owner I would want minimum 10% return in Ktha......i'm currently on 19% (x 2)& 14.8% on my Ktha IPs.

Wonder if Mr Barnett will be buying into the snot box towers or Malataga Swamp.....at current pricings??? Hmmmmm, don't think so!

Wish people would stop associating another Ktha boom on the back of Cevrons' Gorgon project too. It is having & will have bugger all impact in Ktha.......workers fly through the airport and that's it. They are not living in Ktha!! A small handful may decide to reside but that does not equate to a boom!! The rest are & will be FIFO from other parts of the planet.

If avergage numpties still think they can get extraordinary returns & growth out of Ktha without developing or building at less than retail......good luck to them, it's their decision and their money.

When i'm next in Ktha I'll confirm pricing for Pelago, but I think the $600K was for a 1 Br or poorly positioned 2 Br.....they go up to $900K for 3 Br.....at least you'll get views of the tidal surge about to swamp the complex ground floors and carparks.

Ian.
 
Crikey, Ian. You're scaring the sh%$ out of me. I just bought in Sth Hedland!

No, I'm just joshing ya.

I reckon it'll be fine, as long as you accept that 11% yeilds are enough and CG, even slipping below 20+% the 10yr average, is just a bonus.

Costs a heck of lot to get in, I admit, and that's not easy for anyone (it took us years of equity accretion and saving). You're possibly thinking it can;t be done again at the 'bargain' prices you did it, but look at your returns!

Well done there!
 
G'day Belbo & All,

Glad to see you took my post for its' exact intent and in jest.....(I am scared for the numpty property lemmings that read 'Hot Spot' style articles or factually bereft articles from part time property magazine contributors, then they go out and buy in the Pilbara, Surat Basin, Goldfields etc without doing the detailed DD first).

Personally, I have seriously considered Pt & Sth Hedland in the last 12 months, I've spied a couple of really good prospects, but have held off while I am doing my townhouse development in SA - 3 x slabs are down and frames about to go up; should have keys around Oct-Nov. then I'll be looking at other prospects which I have had in my twisted pipeline for a while.

I would honestly feel more comfortable with both Hedlands & Broome over Karratha at the moment......but I like to live on the edge, I have to challenge blind acceptance & conformity and I definitely don't like following herds (too much poo to step in). So as everyone loads up on Karratha, i'll go play elsewhere thanks.

We didn't see our buy in costs in Ktha at the differing times as bargain prices, on the contrary they were high and confrontational at those times, but we saw opportunity as others said it was time to sell up.

People were telling me I was mad buying into Karratha in 2005 when others were bailing out, I was also apparently 'nuts' according to one acquaintance buying a large block to develop in Adelaide in 2006 when all SAs growth surely had stopped and it would be in the doldrums for the next 10 yrs, and I was 'taking a big punt' building again in Karratha in 2007 when Woodside LNG 4 had finished. Yep, ok so I am certifiable.......I don't care!!.....and I don't care that all those property averse share experts who told me I was mad lost their cash & significant amounts of super during the GFC......interesting all of those workplace share experts still haven't learnt their lesson.....they're back in there speculating on penny dreadfuls again........and I don't punt or buy scratchies!!

We will be looking for yield / cash flow again as I look at semi-retiring end of this year (age 49). I have a couple of little ideas in mind which once again will go against conformity, but if they work.........I won't care. If they don't work.....well we'll never know, because I won't let either project get to that stage if my DD says we are exposed.

Don't know about you or others here, but I am getting really ******** off reading API & Your Investment Prpty magazines lately........some of the crap and ill researched garbage they are printing about Ktha, Dampier, Hedland, Gladstone, Surat Basin is beyond being fathomable. I do seriously have to question whether these writers have actually ever been to these places, or are they just feeding on the frenzied fervour & faecal diatribe in the papers and putting their own words into play to avoid plagiarism issues, because some of their commentary is just utter & absolute *****!!

Investment Property lemmings are like cane toads......they both deserve to be smacked in the head with a shovel!!

Now where did I put my tablets.........
 
G'day Ausprop & All,

When i'm next in Ktha I'll confirm pricing for Pelago, but I think the $600K was for a 1 Br or poorly positioned 2 Br.....they go up to $900K for 3 Br.....at least you'll get views of the tidal surge about to swamp the complex ground floors and carparks.

Ian.

Back at work today and got hold of local paper; so here are the advertised figures for anyone interested:

1BR x 1Bth $600K - Rent $980/wk.
2x2 $850K - Rent $1390/wk.
3x2 $970K - Rent $1585/wk.

3yr rent guarantee - lease back to Finbar (developer) with fixed 8.5% return........no mention of costs / outgoings.

There is also a reference to "From $583K Off the Plans".

Personally, I don't know what the free market would pay rent wise, but always be wary of the developers rent guarantees.

Did a quick drive down to shops last night after flying back in; drove past this development and also noticed there is a bloody great camp of permanent dongas (Barnetts' affordable accommodation for workers) right next to it.......really choice views.....not!!! Can't wait to see what this new 'Stalag' will look like in two / three years time covered in red dust and garbage. From what any FIFO camp dweller will tell you, unless this affordable accommodation complex is managed & maintained to the utmost degree (hardly bloody likely here in bum#$%k), it will look filthy & shabby in very quick time.

Awesome planning by Shire of Roebourne once again. Suppose one spin off is there will be plenty of options after local construction projects die off to house all the asylum seekers in all the camps around the place!

The End.
 
it looks like Finbar is trying to skim a bit of cream on those rents. A 3 bedder should get $1850/wk, so if they skim off $300pw from every apartment it will be a nice little earner.

Karratha is set to be a major centre, doubt there will be any empty places any time soon!
 
Due to the high prices in Broome, locals have been selling up, taking the cash and moving to Derby to live on their profits. End result is a steep rise in prices on the Derby market. have most likely hit its peak sans any major notification.

They are making land available a bit out of town central, should be a result there (see the DPI land release site).

I have a couple of reservations re Derby -

Global warming may or may not be coming, but I have seen the highest tides ever in Broome. Derby would be no different. Unfortunately, Derby is only about 1 metre above sea level max, and most of the town is about 300mm above - so what happens when sea level rises?

Derby town airport is built on marsh land, gravelled over. Ansett stopped flying in there because the runways were 'humping' up due to BaE 146 landings; it was too expensive to rebuild the runways to start again. Hence the use of the Curtin Air Base strip, 42 km out of town. There is a thrice weekly service Perth - Derby direct by a smaller regional airline, using a pure jet into Curtin. Long and short of it is, the air traffic problem will not be solved easily, so travel ex Derby to the rest of Oz and the world in general is limited and costly.

Port facilities in Derby are virtually non existant, and even if refurbished, are tide limited (the jetty dries out). Short of starting again with a completely new facility at Black Rock / Pt Torment, Broome will remain the main supply port for all gas field developement.

Entry and exit from King Sound is a nightmare, and dependant on tides.

I would seriously keep an eye on what happens at Cockatoo and Koolan Is - they are also a prime site for a processing plant, with good sea access. Iron ore mining at Koolan is again underway, but is finite in life span.

Some Resource Companies speak with forked tongues ;)

There are Diamond mines, Zinc mines etc. in the hinterland but do your DD
 
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