Yep most but not all. The biggest issue is the valuation amounts that killing people and causing people to go 90%.
Gladstone QLD - How is it Going????
- Thread starter charlieandkath
- Start date
Yep most but not all. The biggest issue is the valuation amounts that killing people and causing people to go 90%.
Yep, it has been rescued from administration and there some EIS work and other things going on in the background. This and the oil refinery project have been talked about for years, although this one at least seems to have some action behind it.
Thanks so much for your reply. We know that it's quite hard to move blocks up there. The only thing we've got going for us is the fact that the block is in an established area - Clinton/ sea view heights. There are all houses around and pretty much no empty blocks.
What do you think something like this could be worth? The size is 736m2 and it's on a hill - 3rd block from the top. Needs a bit of levelling. Our real estate recommended to advertise it for 170k but asking another real estate they would say 190k if not 200k. We just don't know who to believe lol
There are so many blocks on realestate.com.au. The ones around that price all seem to be outside of Gladstone - calliope etc.
We are prob best off just selling considering the money we would have to spend over the next years until prices go up again...
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thanks heaps.
Does anyone have the latest vacancy trends for Gladstone, curious to know if the ridiculous oversupply has hit it's peak & it's slowly on it's way down? I know we're a long way off recovering but would be nice to know we've hit the worst of the storm! Anyone brave enough to predict what inner cbd unit prices will be like in 10 years from now? Still kicking myself for believing the buyers agent I used had my best interests at heart!
The vacancy rate and rents have stabilised somewhat over the past few months. 4 bedroom houses that were renting for $600-700 pw or higher 2.5 years ago are now renting in the high 300s/low 400s pw at the moment.
The most recent vacancy rate quoted for Gladstone is 7.8%, which is lower than it was at the beginning of the year.
There isn't much in the way of new houses being built at the moment, but there is a lot of empty subdivisions (civil works completed) waiting to be built on.
We've just had to lower our rent to $250 per week from $380 in order to get a new tenant after the last one vacated. So over the last 2 years it's gone from $480 to $380 and now down to $250. Tenants signed for a year so hopefully in 12 months time things have stabilised. With rates and insurance together close to 5k a year can't afford to go any lower.
Who is your PM?
Gladstone property plus have managed this one for us since we purchased it.
I deal with Wendy & Sue. They did a great job holding on to the last tenant when there were lots of properties available at cheaper rents. Our rent did go down at lease time but not down to the levels being reported on here.
Property was only vacant for 2 weeks before securing the new tenant.
Took the opportunity to get some maintenance items sorted while the property was empty.
I deal with Wendy & Sue. They did a great job holding on to the last tenant when there were lots of properties available at cheaper rents. Our rent did go down at lease time but not down to the levels being reported on here.
Property was only vacant for 2 weeks before securing the new tenant.
Took the opportunity to get some maintenance items sorted while the property was empty.
Hi Avatar - how are Gladstone Property Plus with regards to expenses?
I'm having lots of troubles with mine with expenses averaging $100pw in the last FY.
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/news/port-city-ripe-for-investors/2314443/
Interesting that now would be a good time to buy with 7.8% vacancy?
My head is torn wondering I should hold on to the unit i bought last year, I know I'm an idiot & will put a road block to future investing! RE agent highly recommends refraining from putting it on the market. It's now down 50k , mind you the buyers agent said i'd get close to 300k.. its now lucky to be worth 190-200k! Let's only hope Michael Matusik is on the money!
Interesting that now would be a good time to buy with 7.8% vacancy?
My head is torn wondering I should hold on to the unit i bought last year, I know I'm an idiot & will put a road block to future investing! RE agent highly recommends refraining from putting it on the market. It's now down 50k , mind you the buyers agent said i'd get close to 300k.. its now lucky to be worth 190-200k! Let's only hope Michael Matusik is on the money!
I mean, how do you feel they are in regards to managing the tenant requests for repairs and maintenance (do they vet them) and selecting tradies (are they good value tradies or do you feel you are getting ripped off).
e.g. I was charged $600 to clean a house that was already clean to make it 'nice' for the tenant because it had been sitting empty for 4 weeks and 'collected dust'.
No issues like that. I have had no concerns with their maintenance request frequency, filtering of requests or costs.
They make sure the tenant does a quality clean on the way out.
They let me know about anything that they think should be considered but have not forced anything. All the costs I have seen have been reasonable (for Gladstone).
As an example the carpet was rough when we purchased but the PM suggested that there was no need to replace it at the time because it would not impact ability to get a tenant.
We have done carpet this time around but I could have just as easily said to leave them and they would have just accepted that and moved on with finding a tenant.
I did a few rounds of the Gladstone region this morning, and noticed a few changes in the supply pattern around Gladstone as of late. Observations below:
Gladstone main urban area:
The amount of new housing being developed in the main urban area has slowed dramatically in the past 6 months or so. The number of rentals on market is falling, however is still at an elevated rate.
However, new land has continued to be created in a number of new estates. As a result, there is a lot of empty land ready to built on around the southern suburban fringe areas of New Auckland, Kirkwood and Glen Eden but not much building activity.
Estates still progressing include Brookview, Stockwood, Forest Springs, Little Creek and Oasis.
Boyne/Tannum area:
Like the main urban, the Boyne/Tannum area currently has an oversupply of both housing and rentals.
Unlike the main area, the rate at which new land and housing is being developed does not appear to have slowed. Riverstone Rise (Boyne Island), Tannum Blue (Tannum Sands) and The Sands (Tannum Sands) are still releasing new land and housing, with both sides of Tannum Sands Road starting to resemble large construction sites.
The latter two estates seem to be hinging future success on the new Pioneer Drive bridge, as these currently require a long detour for traffic travelling into Gladstone.
When recovery does come around, the main urban area is more likely to lead it than the surrounding satellite towns which are increasingly becoming oversupplied.
Gladstone main urban area:
The amount of new housing being developed in the main urban area has slowed dramatically in the past 6 months or so. The number of rentals on market is falling, however is still at an elevated rate.
However, new land has continued to be created in a number of new estates. As a result, there is a lot of empty land ready to built on around the southern suburban fringe areas of New Auckland, Kirkwood and Glen Eden but not much building activity.
Estates still progressing include Brookview, Stockwood, Forest Springs, Little Creek and Oasis.
Boyne/Tannum area:
Like the main urban, the Boyne/Tannum area currently has an oversupply of both housing and rentals.
Unlike the main area, the rate at which new land and housing is being developed does not appear to have slowed. Riverstone Rise (Boyne Island), Tannum Blue (Tannum Sands) and The Sands (Tannum Sands) are still releasing new land and housing, with both sides of Tannum Sands Road starting to resemble large construction sites.
The latter two estates seem to be hinging future success on the new Pioneer Drive bridge, as these currently require a long detour for traffic travelling into Gladstone.
When recovery does come around, the main urban area is more likely to lead it than the surrounding satellite towns which are increasingly becoming oversupplied.
P.S. I won't be able to do any on ground reports from Gladstone after this month as I will be leaving Gladstone at the end of the month.
Thanks for the info Norwoodman.
We met someone today in Brisbane who manages one of the hotels and other prestige accommodation in the CBD and has links with the two main developers in Gladdy. Like us, he bought property at the wrong time and has decided to keep it as his business associates are not phased by the current vacancies.
Apparently the hotels are still unable to get enough rooms for short term visitors and now have an arrangement with the developers to lease unsold empty houses in the new estates around Kirkwood Rd as furnished hotel accommodation.
He was saying that they believe there will be a return to better times in the next two to three years and that any shortfall in cash flow would be better than selling for a monumental loss. We can hang on for two or three years but wouldn't want to do it any longer.
Do these comments seem feasible to you?
We met someone today in Brisbane who manages one of the hotels and other prestige accommodation in the CBD and has links with the two main developers in Gladdy. Like us, he bought property at the wrong time and has decided to keep it as his business associates are not phased by the current vacancies.
Apparently the hotels are still unable to get enough rooms for short term visitors and now have an arrangement with the developers to lease unsold empty houses in the new estates around Kirkwood Rd as furnished hotel accommodation.
He was saying that they believe there will be a return to better times in the next two to three years and that any shortfall in cash flow would be better than selling for a monumental loss. We can hang on for two or three years but wouldn't want to do it any longer.
Do these comments seem feasible to you?
Unless the hotel groups have transport to and from Kirkwood arranged, I don't think the new housing estates are really a good idea as the only way around is by car, and there are no amenities near nearly all of the new estates.
I do think Gladstone is getting close to the bottom now.
