Karratha

[HD_ACE]

Heres a bit of info for you from down on the street which may or may not be true

Several camps are closing down and a big one is packing up dongas and all and going to headland.

This may or may not put a bit more pressure back onto the rents.
Just rumours but most have cut back and changed rosters of their employees so times must be pretty tough.

Cheers

 

[redwing]

Opposition attacks WA Government after buying Karratha units it now can not sell in flat property market

PILBARA MP Brendon Grylls has blasted the WA Opposition for attacking government investment in luxury apartments in Karratha.

Mark McGowan has used the first sitting day of a new parliamentary week to target Royalties for Regions ? saying the Liberal-National Governments foray into property investment in Karratha has left taxpayers million of dollars out of pocket.

Addressing the media, Mr McGowan attacked the government for buying 50 units in the 174-apartment Pelago East tower for $30 million in 2012 ? and now not being able to sell many of them.

The government has struggled to sell 28 of the units since putting them on the market 10 months ago, and is now offering them under shared equity, a scheme usually aimed at struggling first-home buyers.

Mr McGowan said the Barnett Government had paid Finbar a first instalment of almost $24 million for the units in October, 2012, well before completion in November, 2013.

He said the total cost to the taxpayer had been $30 million.

Cont..

 

[MTR]

Yep, government stuffed up big time with OUR MONEY they certainly should have known better as the writing was on the wall at that time, no excuses for this one

 

[Chomp]

Yep, government stuffed up big time with OUR MONEY they certainly should have known better as the writing was on the wall at that time, no excuses for this one

I don't understand;

A. How the government is allowed to venture into money making schemes with our money

B. Why the are allowed to compete in any industry with tax payers, they become our competition!

 

[redwing]

After being WA champions, property prices in the Pilbara are taking a hit; Median Sale prices from 12 months ago according to REIWA

Broome Urban Area $615,000 -8.2%
Karratha Urban Area $682,500 -8.7%
Port Hedland Urban Area $803,500 -13.1%

Double digit Rental Market falls include

Kalgoorlie-Boulder - Median Weekly Rent $330 -19.5%
Broome Urban Area - Median Weekly Rent $600 0% -17.8%

Could see anything about the Median weekly rentals and 12 month comparisons for Port Hedland & Karratha, however Terry Ryder suggest Karratha's vacancy rate is up around 7-8%

 

[Karratha_Guy]

There was a lot of beat up regarding the Pelago apartments but there's not as many empty as some news outlets were suggesting but there is quite a few empty. More concerning for the Government and Mirvac is the commercial side as there are only 3-4 shops occupied between the 2 buildings which is scary but then again when your charging $11,000 p/m for a 100m2 shop not many small businesses can survive.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-12/anketells-7bn-port-and-rail-deal-signed/5740970

Whether the above will help boost the Karratha market in 2-4 years is uncertain due to the amount of land being released and sitting vacant but it could correct it.

I love the people who whinge about buying here and being screwed over......blind freddy could have told them once the construction phase of all the major projects was over there wasn't going to be as many people in town. Will only get worse in the next year as well as the Rio Tinto Cape Lambert expansion slows down and quite a few people living here commute out there. But at the same time the new port and rail will be going in as thats wrapping up.

Another area of concern is that the major companys rental assistance is being reduced, Rio Salt has already reduced theirs so assume Iron Ore's will be next

 

[MTR]

After being WA champions, property prices in the Pilbara are taking a hit; Median Sale prices from 12 months ago according to REIWA

Broome Urban Area $615,000 -8.2%
Karratha Urban Area $682,500 -8.7%
Port Hedland Urban Area $803,500 -13.1%

Double digit Rental Market falls include

Kalgoorlie-Boulder - Median Weekly Rent $330 -19.5%
Broome Urban Area - Median Weekly Rent $600 0% -17.8%

Could see anything about the Median weekly rentals and 12 month comparisons for Port Hedland & Karratha, however Terry Ryder suggest Karratha's vacancy rate is up around 7-8%

I had no idea rents for Kalgoorlie had fallen so far back, then again I have not been watching this market, some pain out there for anyone owning this stuff.

QLD mining towns similar story.

 

[redwing]

From hotspot to bloodbath: Property investment in Australia's mining towns

SQM Research?s managing director Louis Christopher recently undertook an update on the resources towns.

His predictions in the company's 2013 Housing Boom and Bust report were that the hard commodity towns ? those usually solely underpinned by resources ? were truly in a downturn, while ?soft? commodity towns with other drivers, such as resources, have had more positive results.

Christopher's update revealed price drops of up to 40 per cent in some areas and vacancy rates spanning up to 14 per cent in others; a situation he referred to as "bloodshed".

Port Hedland fared the worst, with a 40 per cent price drop, from $1,500,000 to $900,000. In 2002 the median price for Port Hedland was sub $200,000, showing just how far this market has come.

In 2012, Property Observer reported on an upcoming downturn, or at least a sense of caution, for several risky mining hotspots.

This was based on a Westpac report, which had flagged a number of Queensland and Western Australian localities as ?high risk? due to their single industry basis. Port Hedland was on this list.

The suburbs they had placed on the list were:

? Blackwater (4714)
? Moranbah (4744)
? Dysart (4745)
? Middlemount and May Downs in the Isaac region (4746)

And in Western Australia:

? Roebourne (including Karratha, Baynton, Bulgarra and Pegs Creek, 6714)
? Port Hedland (including South Hedland, 6721)
? East Pilbara (6753)

More recently, NAB dropped their maximum loan to value ratio (LVR) for home buyers and investors in Mackay and Emerald, according to The Rockhampton Morning Bulletin. Investors have seen their potential LVR dive to 80 per cent from 95 per cent, while home buyers will face 90 per cent instead of 95 per cent LVRs.