logo
Pilbara rents more expensive than mortgages across every single suburb

Pilbara rents more expensive than mortgages across every single suburb

Home owners were disappointed by the Reserve Bank's decision on Tuesday to hold the cash rate at 3.85 per cent.
But despite the unexpected hold, Karratha resident Bianca Dawson said she was glad she purchased her house.
"We have no regrets about buying," she said.
Her relief at exiting the rental market is not a surprise.
A recent Domain report found the Pilbara accounted for 11 of the top 12 suburbs across Australia with the biggest discrepancy between the cost of renting and buying a home.
In Karratha, 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, the median house price ranges from $545,000–$755,000, depending on the suburb.
But rents in the town have surged to well over $1,000 per week.
"Our median [rent] now is at $1,350 a week, but what's happened compared to the rest of the country is the housing prices actually haven't gone up as much," Mayor Daniel Scott said.
"They have risen, but they haven't risen as fast.
"We are now in a unique position where if you move to Karratha, particularly if you're a young person, you can get a good-paying job … and you can buy a house."
The City of Karratha's population is expected to increase in the coming years, with modelling showing the population reaching 30,000 by 2030.
Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre director Alan Duncan said the report was not surprising.
"The population has grown across all regional areas of WA by around 2.2 per cent, but at the same time our rental stock has flatlined," Professor Duncan said.
"That pressure is the thing that's really sort of pushing rents higher."
But buying is far from a guarantee for people in town looking for somewhere to live.
Ray White Karratha managing director Richard Naulls said a shortage of housing generally continued to pose challenges for the community.
"Obviously we've got a shortage of housing. It's always about supply and demand," he said.
Mr Naulls also said the high rent yield attracted interstate investors.
"They're trying to get a 10 per cent return sort of thing," he said.
"You're not going to get that sort of return putting your money in a term deposit."
Bianca Dawson said she and her partner were lucky they purchased privately.
"There were lots of people at the home opens, lots of calls from real estate agents and things like that, saying it was time to put the offer in if we wanted to," she said.
Although the mortgage itself worked out cheaper, Ms Dawson said there were other costs.
"Land rates here are crazy high because they're to do with the rental value of the property," she said.
"With the water, you don't just pay your water bill; you have to pay for the usage and the rights and everything like that.
"Home and contents insurance was way more expensive than what we would have ever thought."
The situation has forced the local council to intervene.
The City of Karratha adopted a policy providing accommodation to low and middle-income earners at its June council meeting, as well as investing in a project that will see 37 new residences.
Cr Scott said the project was funded out of necessity.
"The council made a decision to invest $26 million plus GST, which we funded from our infrastructure reserves to make that project in Baynton West … a reality," he said.
"The city doesn't really want to own all these properties, but we recognise there's a market failure and we're playing our role to get more accommodation in the city."
Mr Naulls said these new construction projects would likely see property prices increase.
"It's been very stable, very gradual, but as soon as this construction takes off, you'll see investors, companies coming to town," he said.
"That's where prices then get pushed up, and it makes it more difficult for people to buy or afford to buy."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Victorian government housing agency hires home-buyer as part of public housing demolition plans
Victorian government housing agency hires home-buyer as part of public housing demolition plans

ABC News

time28 minutes ago

  • ABC News

Victorian government housing agency hires home-buyer as part of public housing demolition plans

The Victorian government's housing agency is hiring an internal home-buyer as it works to find new homes for residents displaced by its controversial plan to redevelop Melbourne's public housing towers. The successful candidate will work with Homes Victoria to identify properties that are suitable for leasing or purchase, "including bulk and off-the-plan purchases". They will also have a thorough understanding of the property market and transaction process, according to a job advertisement that closes tomorrow. Homes Victoria regularly purchases and leases properties to add to the state's social housing stock, but the job ad's mention of a "high priority Tower Relocations program" suggests acquisitions could scale up as the 44 towers are progressively retired over the next 25 years. While the move will likely help residents remain close to their existing communities, the government's critics say it could add more pressure to the strained property market. "Our concern is the government obviously has absolutely no plan for how they are going to house 10,000 people that they are relocating in the middle of a housing crisis," the Victorian Greens' housing spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, said. "The government has said that it's simply too expensive for them to refurbish these public housing towers. "Yet what they are engaging in is an incredibly expensive and inefficient process of buying up and head-leasing private homes to move public housing residents into." The government has been under fire over the effect its plan to progressively redevelop the ageing towers, which generally house hundreds of people, will have on housing demand across the city. It is unclear how many private market homes could be required over the life of the plan, with many tenants likely to be moved into existing social housing properties. A Homes Victoria spokesperson declined to say how many private market homes would be required across the first three towers to be retired — in North Melbourne and Flemington — but the government has previously revealed four dwellings were leased and 16 dwellings purchased in surrounding suburbs in the first half of the year. It is understood the homes were acquired at market value. The Real Estate Institute of Victoria also said it was aware of a government initiative to purchase private dwellings for social housing, but its members had not reported any significant activity in that area. "Increasing supply through new builds is the most effective way to address affordability and availability over the long term," a spokesperson said. "However, we acknowledge that in some circumstances, the time frames associated with new developments may not meet urgent demand, and the use of existing stock may be a necessary interim measure." Meanwhile, the Victorian Greens say they were recently contacted by a constituent claiming a real estate agency working on behalf of the government had approached multiple owners in their inner-west Melbourne apartment block about potential sales. The movement comes as Melbourne's overburdened property market suffers from a citywide vacancy rate of 1.4 per cent, a near-record low according to property research body Cotality. Head of research Tim Lawless said additional demand against this backdrop of low supply would generally place upward pressure on rents and property prices in the inner-city suburbs where the towers were located. "I suppose from a positive perspective, it's good to see the state government looking after those tenants in government-owned properties and looking to relocate them," he said. "I think the challenge is actually going to be finding enough housing to ensure those people have a quality lifestyle and a reasonable level of comfort." The tower refurbishment plan is the focus of a current parliamentary inquiry that has heard evidence from distressed residents, legal centres and housing groups, as well as a resident-led class action that was dismissed but is currently being appealed. However, the government argues the ageing towers have reached the end of their useful life and do not meet modern standards of design, comfort and energy efficiency. It has promised to increase social housing by 10 per cent at each site when the estates are rebuilt, with a mix of social and private market housing. More than 55,500 households were waiting to enter public housing in March this year, while a further 10,500 existing tenants had applied for transfers.

The Geelong suburbs where home prices soared since Covid
The Geelong suburbs where home prices soared since Covid

News.com.au

time2 hours ago

  • News.com.au

The Geelong suburbs where home prices soared since Covid

Time is on the side of people who bought homes in Geelong in the first year of the Covid pandemic, new data reveals. New PropTrack research reveals people who bought homes in the 12 months to July 2020 are sitting pretty on potential five-year value gains of between 10 and 100 per cent. Only one Geelong suburb shows a price fall over that time, a 3.3 per cent decline for Geelong West units. The growth figures underline how dramatic the restrictions on the movement of people in Melbourne were on regional property prices during the pandemic, as thousands sought to leave the lockdown capital. Mid-century home designed by AFL great up for sale Dan Andrews' ring of steel locked in the unprecedented boom in home prices as waves of Melbourne people – many buying sight-unseen – accelerated demand for property. It wasn't to last though, with Geelong now coming out of a two-year downturn as the market absorbed the abnormal growth. The data reveals Rippleside as the standout suburb, with a 104 per cent median price gain over five years (worth $850,000) skewed by the waterfront Balmoral Quay development. A renovation boom made its mark at inner-west Manifold Heights, where the median house price has jumped nearly 60 per cent to $1.175m. But next-ring suburbs stood up best during the downturn. Whittington, St Albans Park, Bell Post Hill, Herne Hill and Corio houses banked median price growth between 30 and 40 per cent over five years, with inner-city South Geelong and outer suburban Lovely Banks and Marshall rounding out the city's 10 best-performing suburbs. Geelong buyers advocate Tony Slack said the strength of the growth over five years demonstrated the owning property for value gain was still a long-term proposition. 'You always should be looking at least five to seven years because of that cycle. That's just natural growth – plateau – growth – plateau. You need time in the market,' he said. Mr Slack said the pandemic boom was unique as it was driven predominantly by owner occupiers, with the negative result for Geelong West units put down to an oversupply and fewer investment buyers. Gartland Geelong agent Will Ainsworth said new development and renovations contributed significantly to the growth, especially in smaller suburbs such as Rippleside and Manifold Heights, but rising prices for inner suburbs also pushed demand further from the CBD. 'Eight to 10 years ago it would have been the suburbs closer to the CBD than those (that had the best growth),' he said. 'You've got East Geelong or Newcomb, and now you've got Whittington and St Albans Park. 'It's that next or third suburb from the CBD that became the affordable one, because that second one had taken off and become a bit less affordable,' he said. 'There's equity in two ways – improving the value in a renovation or waiting for the market to increase, or doing both. 'One of them is probably going to work, two of them are going to work better.' Geelong's best growth in five years: houses Suburb Median price 5 year change Rippleside $1,665,000 104.3% Manifold Heights $1,175,000 59.3% Whittington $540,000 40.3% Lovely Banks $805,000 40.0% St Albans Park $600,000 36.2% Bell Post Hill $655,000 35.1% Corio $490,000 34.2% Herne Hill $700,000 30.8% South Geelong $890,000 29.4% Marshall $630,000 28.8% Mr Ainsworth said buyers had become more sensible again, but there were still tricky conversations with vendors who bought at the height of the boom. 'If they bought for $1m, now it might be worth $950,000. The owners might want $1.05m to get their money back. You've got a $100,000 or 10 per cent differential that you can't bring that together – that's too big a price gap.' Hayeswinckle, East Geelong director Tiffany Simpson said returning confidence and interstate investors were improving values in areas like St Albans Park, where bigger properties offer better bang for buck. 'In almost the first six months of 2025 in St Albans Park we are up 10 per cent up on where we were last year – that's due to investors coming back in to the market,' she said. 'A lot of first-time buyers are able to stretch past $600,000, given a couple of interest rate cuts. 'The confidence has definitely returned and they feel more relaxed to able be able to fully use their borrowing potential.' Geelong's best growth in five years: units Suburb Median price 5 year change Newtown $603,000 36.4% Norlane $392,500 32.2% Bell Park $524,000 29.4% Newcomb $480,000 28.0% Corio $385,000 24.2% Whittington $375,000 22.5% Belmont $530,000 22.4% Herne Hill $355,000 22.1% Highton $502,000 21.0% Grovedale $500,000 20.1% McGrath, Geelong agent Jasmin Jurkovic said values in suburbs such as Bell Post Hill had responded as neighbouring areas heated up. 'The demographics are changing – it was a very ageing population with 80-plus year old migrants that came here 55 years ago and the built their dream home,' Ms Jurkovic said. 'The younger generation has gravitated here and appreciated the value they've got for families with land size, affordability for a good, solid brick home and all the conveniences.' Corio is the most-popular suburb in the top 10, where 291 houses sold in 12 months. The median house price has jumped from $365,000 in 2020 to $490,000. 'I became all about the bigger blocks and affordability and people were landbanking and going, 'well, it's an hour to Melbourne, first-time buyers will gravitate here if we build units',' she said. 'There's a lot of construction and building taking place and the yield was good because when you were buying something for $350,000, and the rent was about $300 to $280.'

Australia, UK to ink 50-year deal to underpin AUKUS
Australia, UK to ink 50-year deal to underpin AUKUS

The Advertiser

time2 hours ago

  • The Advertiser

Australia, UK to ink 50-year deal to underpin AUKUS

Australia and the UK will ink a 50-year deal to underpin delivery of the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, amid concerns about a US review of the trilateral pact. AUKUS, formed in 2021 between Australia, the UK and US to address shared concerns about China's rising military ambition, is designed to enable Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2040s. But doubts have been raised about the future of the $368 billion program after the Trump administration this year initiated a review of the deal to examine if it met its "American First" criteria. Defence Minister Richard Marles said he remained confident about the future of US involvement on the eve of Australia and the UK signing a multi-decade bilateral deal cementing their commitment. "It is a profoundly important treaty that we will sign," Mr Marles said on Friday alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong and their British counterparts John Healey and David Lammy. "It forms part of a trilateral agreement that we have and we are really confident about the progress of all three countries in bringing that to fruition." The treaty, to be signed in Geelong on Saturday, would allow "comprehensive co-operation" on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of AUKUS submarines, the ministers said in a joint statement. It will also support development of personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems for Australia's nuclear-powered submarine program, the statement said. Mr Lammy said the treaty showed the strength of Australia and the UK's commitment to AUKUS. "It's clear that the UK-Australia relationship is an anchor in what is a very volatile world, providing stability in troubled waters and a relationship that holds steady whichever way the geopolitical winds are blowing," he said. Mr Healey said the UK was confident it could meet its obligations under the deal on industrial capacity to deliver SSN-AUKUS submarines. "We have the technology and the designs to be able to deliver our commitments to the SSN-AUKUS and we will," he said. Australia will pay $5 billion to support British industry to design and produce nuclear reactors to power the future AUKUS-class submarines. Australia will acquire at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. On Sunday, the ministers will visit Darwin to observe joint military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, which comprise more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries. This year, the war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. Australia and the UK will ink a 50-year deal to underpin delivery of the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, amid concerns about a US review of the trilateral pact. AUKUS, formed in 2021 between Australia, the UK and US to address shared concerns about China's rising military ambition, is designed to enable Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2040s. But doubts have been raised about the future of the $368 billion program after the Trump administration this year initiated a review of the deal to examine if it met its "American First" criteria. Defence Minister Richard Marles said he remained confident about the future of US involvement on the eve of Australia and the UK signing a multi-decade bilateral deal cementing their commitment. "It is a profoundly important treaty that we will sign," Mr Marles said on Friday alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong and their British counterparts John Healey and David Lammy. "It forms part of a trilateral agreement that we have and we are really confident about the progress of all three countries in bringing that to fruition." The treaty, to be signed in Geelong on Saturday, would allow "comprehensive co-operation" on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of AUKUS submarines, the ministers said in a joint statement. It will also support development of personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems for Australia's nuclear-powered submarine program, the statement said. Mr Lammy said the treaty showed the strength of Australia and the UK's commitment to AUKUS. "It's clear that the UK-Australia relationship is an anchor in what is a very volatile world, providing stability in troubled waters and a relationship that holds steady whichever way the geopolitical winds are blowing," he said. Mr Healey said the UK was confident it could meet its obligations under the deal on industrial capacity to deliver SSN-AUKUS submarines. "We have the technology and the designs to be able to deliver our commitments to the SSN-AUKUS and we will," he said. Australia will pay $5 billion to support British industry to design and produce nuclear reactors to power the future AUKUS-class submarines. Australia will acquire at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. On Sunday, the ministers will visit Darwin to observe joint military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, which comprise more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries. This year, the war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. Australia and the UK will ink a 50-year deal to underpin delivery of the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, amid concerns about a US review of the trilateral pact. AUKUS, formed in 2021 between Australia, the UK and US to address shared concerns about China's rising military ambition, is designed to enable Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2040s. But doubts have been raised about the future of the $368 billion program after the Trump administration this year initiated a review of the deal to examine if it met its "American First" criteria. Defence Minister Richard Marles said he remained confident about the future of US involvement on the eve of Australia and the UK signing a multi-decade bilateral deal cementing their commitment. "It is a profoundly important treaty that we will sign," Mr Marles said on Friday alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong and their British counterparts John Healey and David Lammy. "It forms part of a trilateral agreement that we have and we are really confident about the progress of all three countries in bringing that to fruition." The treaty, to be signed in Geelong on Saturday, would allow "comprehensive co-operation" on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of AUKUS submarines, the ministers said in a joint statement. It will also support development of personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems for Australia's nuclear-powered submarine program, the statement said. Mr Lammy said the treaty showed the strength of Australia and the UK's commitment to AUKUS. "It's clear that the UK-Australia relationship is an anchor in what is a very volatile world, providing stability in troubled waters and a relationship that holds steady whichever way the geopolitical winds are blowing," he said. Mr Healey said the UK was confident it could meet its obligations under the deal on industrial capacity to deliver SSN-AUKUS submarines. "We have the technology and the designs to be able to deliver our commitments to the SSN-AUKUS and we will," he said. Australia will pay $5 billion to support British industry to design and produce nuclear reactors to power the future AUKUS-class submarines. Australia will acquire at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. On Sunday, the ministers will visit Darwin to observe joint military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, which comprise more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries. This year, the war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. Australia and the UK will ink a 50-year deal to underpin delivery of the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement, amid concerns about a US review of the trilateral pact. AUKUS, formed in 2021 between Australia, the UK and US to address shared concerns about China's rising military ambition, is designed to enable Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2040s. But doubts have been raised about the future of the $368 billion program after the Trump administration this year initiated a review of the deal to examine if it met its "American First" criteria. Defence Minister Richard Marles said he remained confident about the future of US involvement on the eve of Australia and the UK signing a multi-decade bilateral deal cementing their commitment. "It is a profoundly important treaty that we will sign," Mr Marles said on Friday alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong and their British counterparts John Healey and David Lammy. "It forms part of a trilateral agreement that we have and we are really confident about the progress of all three countries in bringing that to fruition." The treaty, to be signed in Geelong on Saturday, would allow "comprehensive co-operation" on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of AUKUS submarines, the ministers said in a joint statement. It will also support development of personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems for Australia's nuclear-powered submarine program, the statement said. Mr Lammy said the treaty showed the strength of Australia and the UK's commitment to AUKUS. "It's clear that the UK-Australia relationship is an anchor in what is a very volatile world, providing stability in troubled waters and a relationship that holds steady whichever way the geopolitical winds are blowing," he said. Mr Healey said the UK was confident it could meet its obligations under the deal on industrial capacity to deliver SSN-AUKUS submarines. "We have the technology and the designs to be able to deliver our commitments to the SSN-AUKUS and we will," he said. Australia will pay $5 billion to support British industry to design and produce nuclear reactors to power the future AUKUS-class submarines. Australia will acquire at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. On Sunday, the ministers will visit Darwin to observe joint military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, which comprise more than 30,000 personnel from 19 militaries. This year, the war games involve the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales - the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store