Mildura?

[newlywed1311]

Mildura is my home town

I currently live in Mildura - born and bred. I'm considering my first IP here but have been scared off because the liklihood of long term capital growth at the rate of a capital city is very unlikely. There are some great buys here at the moment, particularly with the current development of the Mildura Marina. Obviously the drought is having a huge impact upon the fruit properties and many are selling up to get out. I'm not sure what impact that will have on the long-term viability of the community.
It's really interesting to read how other people summarise this city. It is a wonderful place to live but unfortunately, is a fair way from anywhere (Adelaide 4.5 hours to drive and Melbourne around 6.5 hours to drive). However, we have an airport that is being upgraded and constantly have new air providers coming into the game.
The river is our life blood and there are some huge plans for redevelopment along the riverfront. Obviously, without the river (and there's always talk about how long it will last due to the drought) we would be stuffed!
More than happy to provide any advice if anyone's looking to buy here, like good and not-so-good area's, etc. I work at Council, so have some understanding of long term plans for the area.
I love living here but that's as a local, not as an investor - through which you would make decisions quite differently.

 

[Delilah]

Checkout Terry Ryders reports... he mentions Mildura. That huge powerplant won't build itself

Looks like the solar power plant may not be going ahead or if it does on a much smaller scale.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/shadow-cast-over-solar-plant-future-20090906-fcuy.html

 

[JD86]

i dont know a lot about mildura, but i flew there a couple of times this year as we are doing work on sacred heart primary school

i also know a developer is seeking approval for a 100 bedroom hostel on lemon avenue

 

[our obsession]

I'm not sure if we had included the possibility of a casino in Mildura:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/victorias-second-casino-on-cards-20091015-gz6h.html

and:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/pl...uras-grand-hotel/story-e6frf7jo-1225786982076

Plans to build a $300 million casino and entertainment complex on the site of Mildura's Grand Hotel

Staff reporters From: Herald Sun October 15, 2009 10:57AM

MILDURA'S historic Grand Hotel could be transformed into a $300 million casino complex.

Former Federal Hotels Group and Crown Management Pty Ltd deputy chairman John Haddad is behind the push to build a second casino in Victoria, according to reports in the Sunraysia Daily.

Mr Haddad said a concept plan for the complex, which is understood to include entertainment and conference facilites, has already been presented to Premier John Brumby.

"The river in Mildura is magnificent but it has never been used properly,'' Mr Haddad told 3AW radio.

"The land there can go right to the river and you would open up the riverfront. It would be marvellous for Mildura and also for Victoria.''

Mr Haddad said the casino would double as a regional entertainment and convention centre.....etc

So, from what I am understanding, this (picture), being the Grand Hotel, IF casino/complex goes ahead it is across from road/lawn/roadish to river, I wonder if the old Grand will go or BIG remodel?...

Would make a great site for an entertainment/function centre, and casino if you are into them..

Some pictures of the Marina moving along, from last few days, lots more constructions to take place, only early days yet:

 

[billyb67]

Has anyone actually invested in Mildura lately ?

 

[Gools]

Does providing $100k to bag snatchers count as an investment into the community?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/bag-snatcher-grabs-100000-from-supermarket-trolley-in-mildura/story-e6frf7kx-1225835582647

 

[Perp]

I haven't invested in Mildura recently, but you've reminded me to add some more to this thread, billyb67.

Virgin Blue now have daily flights Mildura-Melbourne - the first jets to regularly fly in - and my sources tell me that VB are rapt with the performance of this new route and considering adding Mildura-Adelaide, for which there'd be a lot of demand because most locals go to Adelaide for specialist medical care, rather than Melbourne.

The horticulturalists are exceedingly gloomy. One of the types of grape (I think chardonnay, but I'm not very much into this stuff so can't be sure) was attracting only $150 per tonne this year at the wineries, when prices have historically been more like 5 to 6 times this. (The contracts are written in the wineries' favour - they basically name their price.) It costs $180 per tonne just to harvest. Why did they harvest rather than let it rot? Because 1) the wineries don't tell you what they'll pay until after harvest, and 2) harvesting "cleans up" the vines for next year's crop, which you hope will be better.

All over the district, there are vineyards dying, which the owners have decided to just abandon.

But... the good news is that horticulture actually employs a relatively small proportion of the population. Whilst the area used to be heavily reliant on the exports of fruit from the district for its economic prosperity, the city has now grown to a size whereby the vast majority of jobs are in all the industries which exist in a self-sustaining city - hospitality, government, medical, retail, transport, education, etc.

Without wanting to diminish the economic devastation which some families have experienced as a result of the poor state of the fruit industries, the economy of the region as a whole still looks quite healthy. But the locals aren't aware of that; many of them are so caught up in the historical connection between the fruit industry and the local economy that they perceive that they're living in a dying town, whereas I'm quite convinced that they're not. Therefore I think that the locals are overly pessimistic about their own housing, and that it's undervalued relative to comparables (ie in comparable regional areas). And the Council and Victorian government have tightened up the rules about subdividing former fruit blocks substantially in recent years - which compounds the devastation for those who still have a fruit block (they can't even subdivide it to try and salvage something from the disaster ), but which is positive for property prices.

I think there'll come a time, perhaps in a few years after the locals realise that despite the devastation in the fruit industry, the town's still prospering, that prices will adjust to a new level.

But that's just my take, obviously...

 

[Justin Groenewa]

IP In Mildura Good or Bad?

Hi there,

I am new to this forum however have read a fair amount on it. We're thinking of buying an IP in Mildura. Are there any comments out there? Thanks

 

[engelo10]

Hi Justin,

I have 2 properties in Mildura and so far have done well. The rental market is very tight and there are a lot of positives happening in the town. The house prices are also very affordable. There hasnt been much growth in recent years but when speaking to realestate professionals from the region they are predicting growth in the years to come which I believe in also.

Regards,
Engelo

 

[our obsession]

...just another update on Victoria's largest/busiest airport @ Mildura. More funding, (or maybe a continuation of the next stage upgrade):

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The multi-million dollar terminal upgrade at Mildura Airport will now proceed following the announcement of an additional $2.2 million in funding from the Victorian Coalition Government.

Speaking in Mildura, Acting Premier Peter Ryan said the Coalition Government would increase its contribution towards the project to $5.2 million to ensure the airport expansion could commence as soon as possible......

“The refurbishment will include remodeling the check-in area, redesigning the baggage system and a significantly larger and redesigned floorspace that will better support the flow of inbound and outbound passengers moving through the terminal building,” Mr Crisp said.

“The Mildura Airport Terminal Redevelopment Project includes extending the landside face of the passenger terminal, as well as remodeling and refurbishing the internal areas of the airport.”

Funding info is from Deputy Premier of Vic. Peter Ryan's site, unsure why link is not a live one....shall give the basics instead?:

http://www.peterryan.com.au/

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[nkirlew]

Hi Justin,

I have 2 properties in Mildura and so far have done well. The rental market is very tight and there are a lot of positives happening in the town. The house prices are also very affordable. There hasnt been much growth in recent years but when speaking to realestate professionals from the region they are predicting growth in the years to come which I believe in also.

Regards,
Engelo

Our Mildura IP hasn't grown that much either, 3% over 5 years. Stock standard unit in stock standard area.

 

[our obsession]

...and just on the long awaited river front re development, (the casino is a no-go):

WORK will start on the next phase of the long-awaited Mildura riverfront redevelopment within the next six months following an additional $2million in state government funding announced yesterday.

While work on the marina precinct continues, progress has been slow along the rest of Mildura’s riverfront since the installation of houseboat mooring bollards and accompanying boardwalk.

.....The over-riding plan is for $220million over a period of 10 years...

From Mildura Weekly paper 24/02/2012.

 

[engelo10]

...just another update on Victoria's largest/busiest airport @ Mildura. More funding, (or maybe a continuation of the next stage upgrade):



Funding info is from Deputy Premier of Vic. Peter Ryan's site, unsure why link is not a live one....shall give the basics instead?:

http://www.peterryan.com.au/

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This is great news.

 

[Perp]

The Mildura Airport Master Plan 2010 has some area statistics and summary of industries which may be of interest to those considering investing in Mildura.

I just visited last week and the amount of investment in the district, and new commercial construction, is really quite encouraging.

 

[Roachy]

Anyone have an update on the economy and the current state of the housing market for Mildura?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Truly Exotic]

just wondering what everyones thoughts on mildura are,

you can pick up some nice off the shelf houses for 9-9.5% at the asking price,

some have sat on teh market for months,

casino is not going ahead

airport development, increased investment and government funding

very little growth in the past 3-5 years

however, cons

locals are seen to be lazy

negative outlook amongst residents,
heavily reliant on agriculture
has been affected by drought over the years,
seems to do poorly on tough times
very little growth in the past 3-5 years

 

[Brady]

Would also like to know more about peoples thoughts on Mildura.

No growth in the last few years doesnt always indicate a bad sign, as long as it is going to improve.

 

[our obsession]

Would also like to know more about peoples thoughts on Mildura.

No growth in the last few years doesnt always indicate a bad sign, as long as it is going to improve.

I have no argument or contention with this article's report, it's from earlier in the year, (BY LAUREN RODEN)

23 Jan, 2012, Mildura did take a hit, but with well bought/good buying/deal investing, it is an area that can reap reward:

House sales ‘looking up’: Prices have been static in Mildura, but agents see signs of a revival

Excerpt from the report:

MILDURA real estate agents have predicted an increase in house sales across the district this year, providing growers enjoy a successful harvest and interest rates remain low.
The experts are also anticipating house prices may rise slightly, despite remaining static for the last few years.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria at the weekend revealed the median house price across regional Victoria had risen by 0.8 per cent, from $310,000 to $312,500, over the last three months.

And while cities such as Bendigo and Ballarat saw increases of 6.3 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively, prices in Mildura remained static, according to the Sunraysia chair of the REIV Ortensio Venneri.

Mr Venneri, who is also a director of Barry Plant Mildura, said the median price of a house in Mildura in December was $215,000.

“People always like to see the median price go up because that means the value of their properties is going up,” he said.

“But in our market, it hasn’t changed much over the last few years.”

However, Mr Venneri said all signs were pointing to an increase in activity in the market.

“Sales were very strong in Mildura in the last quarter of last year and the interest rates are coming down a couple of notches,” he said.

“And you can tell the people who are going to (open) homes now are real buyers – they genuinely want to find something.”

Mr Venneri said the time houses spent on the market had dropped over the past year.

“At the start of last year it was taking between 60 and 90 days for a home to sell, now we’re back to seeing a lot of properties selling between 30 and 60 days,” he said.

“That’s what sellers want and it means the buyers are out there.”

Paul Modica, director of Paul Modica Real Estate, said demand in the market improved toward the end of 2011.

“We’re seeing a bit of confidence return,” he said.

“We’ve had more inquiries from people looking for houses, but house prices have remained stagnant.”

LJ Hooker principal Geoff Martin said while demand for houses had remained relatively stable across Sunraysia over the December quarter, particular sections of the market had seen some growth.

“At the lower end of the market – houses priced at $140,000 to $170,000 – sales have picked up a bit,” he said.

“I think there are investors out there picking up properties priced up to about $250,000 and renting them out.

“They’re taking advantage of the cheaper interest rates.

“And the rental market has been really solid, with really low vacancy rates last year.”