September 2016 Edition Inside This Issue Office Locations Out & About! Rural Rockhampton Whitsundays Mackay/ Commercial/ Industrial Mackay Mining Town Surrounds Wide Bay Bundaberg Biloela Wide Bay Hervey Bay Gladstone Contact us Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton
Opteon Property Group (OPG) is a national provider of valuation and property advisory services. With 75 office locations nationwide we have a team of over 800 staff including more than 500 valuers. Our specialist team can assist with all manner of valuations, from residential mortgages to more complex valuation assignments. Our integrated valuation and property advisory services are built across eight national business units: Commercial, Residential, Government Services, Agribusiness, Plant & Equipment, Advisory, Tax Depreciation and Quantity Surveying. The extensive reach of our valuation and advisory network enables us to provide fast, reliable and independent valuation and advisory services for any property type. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 2
Opteon CQ O u t & A b o u t! Opteon Property Group sponsored the annual Charity Bash Golf Day, we had our team of sports stars out playing, we would like to thank the talented Meech Philpott for joining our Opteon Team this year and to Gemma and Allyce who were our team serving snacks on our sponsored Hole. We again congratulate Melissa Green and the local Bank of Queensland for their efforts in this event every year. It s a fantastic cause! Well done to all involved. Adam Bray and Mark Craig (not pictured) attended an Evening of Art at The Rock in Rockhampton. The evening featured local artist Andrea Chapman s work (pictured left) Victoria Gracie attended the Mackay Chamber of Commerce R U OK BBQ Breakfast at CQ Field Mine Services in Paget. R U Ok Day is a national day for suicide prevention. It is very important to have the Conversation with your colleagues, friends and family. R U OK? Ask, listen, encourage and follow up. One conversation can change someone s life. (Pictured above) Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 3
Opteon CQ O u t & A b o u t! In-between Valuations.. We often wonder from our southern based offices what our Whitsunday office get up to between valuations, we recently had Courtney Cranmer our Whitsunday Region Valuer and her husband Chris a local Paramedic asked to do a photo shoot for Air Whitsunday, and we now know exactly what they get up to we have had several applications to move offices! The photos will be used for new marketing material for Air Whitsunday as well as Airlie Beach and Whitsundays tourism. The photos will also form part of a Book about Airlie Beach which is due to be released before Christmas this year! We can t wait to see it!! Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 4
Opteon CQ O u t & A b o u t! Always on the move Eva Schmidt the manager of the Wide Bay Office is a talented business women and investor outside of the valuation office. Eva has a passion for re locatable homes having completed more than 10 of them personally and assisting family and friends in completing them. Eva is a born and bred Maryborough resident growing up on a cane farm, Eva uses local tradesman to complete her homes and a local removal company. But Eva isn t worried about getting her hands dirty she and her partner Michael often finish homes themselves where time permits. Eva was featured in the Australian Property Investor Magazine earlier this year on how to boost equity in your home Eva was featured with a group of experts from tradesman, solicitors and interior renovators. Eva s Tips are below: EVA SCHMIDT OPTEON If you embark on building underneath a high-set house to add equity, Schmidt recommends doing as much of the work yourself as you re able. I can do some of the stuff myself, but otherwise I have builders who work for me, she says. If an investor isn t handy it would still be worthwhile, but not as worthwhile. The more you can do yourself [the better]. Even just the coordinating part of it, not necessarily the hands-on bit but the coordinating of the trades. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 5
Opteon CQ O u t & A b o u t! Our Mackay Office in-between valuing farms Justin Smith the Managing Director of Opteon CQ takes time out to muster 500 heifers on his station Mount Olympus at Clairview, some 130km south of Mackay. Justin grew up on the land and is a well-regarded rural specialist throughout the Mackay Region. He enjoys taking time out with his family on their farm over weekends! Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 6
Rural The current 2016 sugar price is estimated at around $460 per tonne. The current spot price for sugar is in excess of $600 per tonne. The sugar price outlook for the next two seasons is sound. There has been upward pressure on cane land values and increased sales volumes. Land sales have increased by around 10% to 20% over the past 6 months across most regions. Justin Robert Smith 07 4957 2821 Cane farms associated with Wilmar Mills have not experienced the same sales activity due to issues associated with supply agreements causing some concern with potential buyers. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 7
Rockhampton Will the First Home Builders/ Buyers grant have an effect in the Rockhampton Market? The new first home builders grant came into effect 1 July 2016 with eligible people able to access $15,000 or $20,000 to go towards new product. The grant should affect the market for vacant land as buyers acquire parcels. Mark Craig 07 4927 0893 The charts below are figures for vacant land sales in Rockhampton Regional Council area and Livingstone Shire Council area. The charts demonstrate that the trend for the number of sales has been downwards since the beginning of 2014 with values also trending slightly downwards. However the figures for the current quarter, which is the relevant period, are not reliable. Available sales data lags and although this quarter is nearly over the full amount of sales will not be in the figures of the charts. Livingstone Land Series If the grants have the affect intended these graphs in six months time should show an upward kick in the number of sales. Because the grants are essentially only available for new product the demand for vacant land should increase. We are of the view that there should be no corresponding increase in value however the next six months should be an interesting period. Rockhampton Land Series Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 8
Whitsundays NEW HEART HOTEL TO OPEN BY END OF THE MONTH The Heart Hotel, which is currently in the final stages of construction, is expected to open by the end of September. The visually pleasing building is located on the northern side of the main street and adjoins Lagoon Carpark to the rear. The threestorey building will provide ground floor retail shops and restaurant and the two upper floors will comprise 40 rooms. There will also be an onsite spa. The Heart Hotel not only provides a unique location but will also provide a unique style of service, tailoring everything to the guest s requests. The hotel will also provide a complimentary limousine service to all in-house guests. The opening of the hotel is creating lots of jobs for the town and comes at a time when occupancy rates across all holiday accommodation in Airlie Beach is the highest it has been in several years. Courtney Cranmer 07 4948 2966 Statistics recently released by Tourism Whitsundays show that for the year ending June 2016 domestic visitors have increased by 30.6% to 508,000 people and visitor expenditure is up 20.8% to $516 million. The increase in numbers has had positive implications for local businesses and the overall local economy. PEPPERS AIRLIE BEACH UP FOR SALE Earlier this year it was announced that the developer Latitude of the Airlie Beach resort complex that is managed by Mantra Group under the brand Peppers went into receivership. Just recently, receivers McGrath Nicol with CBRE Hotels' agents Wayne Bunz, Paul Fraser and Hayley Manvell, in conjunction with PRD Nationwide Whitsunday have listed the development for sale. Up for sale are the resort amenities, which include front reception, restaurant, meeting and conference areas, day spa (leased and operate by Endota), the management rights and the remaining 56 of the 106 strata apartments in the complex. The resort is situated on a 1.8 ha elevated site providing northerly bay and Port of Airlie marina views. Heart Hotel (artist s impression) There is currently strong interest in Queensland leisure assets by overseas investors. So far this year the Whitsunday region has already recorded several large transactions including two islands and a resort. The interest in these assets comes as tourist numbers and expenditure for the area are at a significantly high level, and are continuing to show signs of growth. The sale of Peppers Airlie Beach is expected to be around $15 million. Peppers Airlie Beach Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 9
Mackay Commercial/Industrial Mixed messages still are the go for our market. Confidence levels are still low with high volumes of vacancies being a feature of our market and across all sectors. Whilst sales are still occurring, they are on low volumes. Paul Krause 07 4957 2821 Interestingly there was a commercial land sale that has occurred in recent times over near the Mater Hospital precinct. The site had a land area of some 3,607 sqm and sold at approximately $375 psm. The appealing site attributes were a near level site and a corner location that would provide excellent street exposure. The Council records indicate a town planning approval for a Childcare Facility which will cater for 143 children and will trade Monday to Friday from 6 am 6 pm will be developed on the site. The approval was granted in June 2016 and the status of the development timeline is unknown. Paget rentals still continue to amaze. A recent rental of $96 psm (net) has been researched for a brand new industrial complex in Dozer Drive. It was recently completed with high clearance (approximately 10 metres) and has a large component of rear open clearspan warehouse and attached office. The overall available floor area is some 2,200 sqm with the tenant being a National company. Strong initial term of 5 years with a five year option. Commercial property evidence has been very thin on the ground but also has signs of downward pressure being placed on rental levels. Proposed childcare centre The former Bunnings premises at the Mount Pleasant Greenfields precinct has had a town planning approval granted to reconfigure the building internally to provide separate tenancies. The development timeline for this project is unknown. Paget vacant land continues to show signs of decreasing rates per square metre. The most recent evidence results in ranges from $95 psm to $105 psm (in round figures). Paget vacant land Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 10
Mackay Mining Town Surrounds Mining towns surrounding Mackay continue to ease, with listing prices from $40,000 in Middlemount. The average sales price for houses in Moranbah for 2016 to date is $167,371, a drop of 19% from the 2015 with an average of $205,708. The average sales price in Dysart has also eased over the last year with the average sales price dropping to below $64,000 from almost $98,000. Andrea Serginson 07 4957 2821 Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 11
Wide Bay - Bundaberg The last 6 months has seen 328 settled dwelling sales with a median price of $278,500 and 53 unit sales with a median price of $279,000. The average time on the market for dwellings is 198 days and 314 days for units. This is steady and consistent with the same period last year, although vacancy rates have reached 6.3%. Other activity in the region includes building of the Knauf plaster board plant being underway which reportedly will bring 600 jobs to the region as well as the new wastewater treatment plant in Rubyanna being under construction. Alexandra Marles 07 4123 2499 Stockland has also announced their proposed extension to Bundaberg Stockland (formally known as Sugarland shopping town) which is much needed on the dated centre. If approved, the extensions and renovations will be undertaken in 2 stages, firstly reconfiguring the internal structure of the existing shopping centre to provide additional dining options and provide outdoor dining. The second stage would see a vacant parcel of land be developed to provide 2 additional food outlets. An artist s impression of the new food outlets and seating area at Stockland Sugarland. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 12
Biloela STRONG SALE OF PREMIUM FATTENING COUNTRY IN BILOELA The last month has seen a similar volume of residential sales in the Callide Dawson region. Again these tend to be on the lower end of the market with little activity in the higher end of the residential market. The smaller township of Monto has seen a moderate number of sales but again these are on the lower sub $100,000 level for basic 3 bedroom single bathroom dwellings of 1960 to 1970 construction. Murray Davis 07 4995 6690 There has been limited commercial and industrial activity over the last month however we are aware of multiple grazing and mixed farming sales that have occurred or are under offer. One of note is the sale of a 205 ha quality scrub grazing property that has sold for close to $3,750 per hectare. This property comprises of very good quality cleared and developed softwood and vinetree scrub country that is located close to Biloela and is well fenced on the boundary and is well watered. It has been purchased by a local experienced grazier and shows some considerable confidence in the quality end of the market for premium fattening country. Recent sale of premium country in Biloela. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 13
Wide Bay Hervey Bay This year the Hervey Bay prestige residential market has seen some activity. Residential sales above one million dollars are generally few and far between, however this year two have already settled. Both properties are beach front and located in the suburb of Dundowran Beach. 23 Nautilus Court Dundowran Beach sold for $1,250,000 in May 2016. Eva Schmidt 07 4123 2499 The property comprises a detached, rendered dwelling on a site area of 2371sqm. The residence has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Circa 2005. Ancillary improvements include parking for 3 cars in attached garage, concrete driveway, extensive landscaping and fully fenced and in-ground swimming pool. The property has a living area of 347sqm, outdoor area of 74sqm and car area of 120sqm. The property had previously sold for $1,625,000 in April 2008. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 14
Wide Bay Hervey Bay (cont d.) 45 Eagle Beach Parade, Dundowran Beach sold for $1,200,000 in June 2016. Eva Schmidt 07 4123 2499 The property comprises a circa 2014 built, detached single storey dwelling, of rendered finish construction, with a colorbond corrugated iron roof. Accommodation comprises 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and attached garage for 2 vehicles. Ancillary items include in-ground swimming pool, clothes line, well maintained and presented lawns and gardens, full boundary fencing, concrete driveway and garden shed. Site area 2049 sqm. The property had previously sold as vacant land in May 2013 for $387,500. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 15
Gladstone RESIDENTIAL RENTAL MARKET UPDATE Since the peak in 2011 and 2012, the residential property market in Gladstone has struggled significantly, both in capital and rental values. The residential unit market continues to be the hardest hit sector of the market with most capital values now up to 60+% less than their value in 2011 and 2012. Residential dwellings have also been hit hard with losses of up to or exceeding 50% recorded in many areas in comparison to the 2011 and 2012 peak in values. Mark Galway 0404 020 221 With no new major projects mooted on the immediate horizon and a continuation of job losses in the local industrial and construction workforces in 2016 in response to weak global commodity, there is little optimism for the region s property market in the short to medium term. The Gladstone Region s heavy reliance on industry, the resources sector and associated port exports leaves it exposed to declining commodity prices. Residential dwellings: The Residential Tenancies Authority advises the median rent for a 3 bedroom house in the Gladstone Region has fallen from $335 per week for the June quarter of 2014 to $210 per week for the June 2016 quarter (a loss of $125 per week over this 2 year period) and down from $300 per week from the corresponding June quarter in 2015 (a drop of $90 per week over this 12 month period). Significantly it also dropped $30 per week since the previous quarter with the median rent for a 3 bedroom house in the Gladstone Region for the March 2016 quarter being $240 per week. Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 16
Gladstone (cont d.) Residential units: The median rent in the Gladstone Region for a 2 bedroom unit has fallen from $280 per week for the June quarter of 2014 to $160 per week for the June 2016 quarter, a drop of $120 per week in rental value over this 2 year period and a reduction of $80 per week since the corresponding June quarter in 2015 ($240 per week). The median rent for a 2 bedroom unit for the March 2016 quarter was $180 per week, representing a $20 per week decline for the June 2016 quarter from this previous quarter. Mark Galway 0404 020 221 The median rent for a 2 bedroom townhouse in the Gladstone Region has fallen from $265 per week for the June quarter of 2014 to $165 per week for the June 2016 quarter, a drop of $100 in rental value over this 2 year period and a reduction of $85 per week since the corresponding June quarter in 2015 ($250 per week). Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 17
Central Queensland Airlie Beach 7/400 Shute Harbour Rd Airlie Beach QLD 4802 Ph: (07) 4948 2966 Wide Bay 5 March Lane Maryborough QLD 4650 Ph: (07) 4123 2499 Contact your local valuation & property advice expert today. Biloela 54 Callide St Biloela QLD 4715 Ph: (07) 4995 6690 Mackay 14 Victoria St Mackay QLD 4740 Ph: (07) 4957 2821 Gladstone Shop 2, 190 Goondoon St Gladstone QLD 4680 Ph: (07) 4972 1656 Rockhampton 3/145 East St Rockhampton QLD 4701 Ph: (07) 4927 0893 Offices: Airlie Beach Biloela Emerald Gladstone Wide Bay Mackay Rockhampton 18