WA Properties in Mining Towns

Discussion in 'Where to Buy' started by MTR, 28th Oct, 2015.

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  1. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

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    Yes of absolutely

    Howeer the way isee it. Thise that got in really early well before the hype either were lucky or really know their stuff

    And i found that most of the ones on those magazines were just following the heard and bought at the peak or near the peak.

    I know its not a mining town but I wouldnt be 100% comfortable buying in logan for example, I think its near its peak or close enough,

    those that made the big bucks would have bought minimum 2 years ago
     
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  2. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    I think there is some truth in this.

    my partner wanted to buy property in Karratha when properties were around $250-350K start of the mining boom in WA, but I would not wear it as I was not at all comfortable with mining towns. In saying this if we had gone hard we would be sitting on some serious cash cows.

    I think sometimes its dumb luck, honestly, I would never have purchased in USA in 2011 if I did not have cash flow issues and would be kicking myself now.

    Quite bizarre sometimes that you can do all the research in the world and still perhaps buy in an area that does not boom and then for some reason you network with someone and an opportunity arises that you would normally ignore but take a chance... that's what I mean by dumb luck.

    MTR:)
     
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  3. bob shovel

    bob shovel Well-Known Member

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    I don't think luck played a part for those that got in early.

    There is plenty of info available pre boom in regards to $, projects and labour required. it would be safe to say the labour graph is very similar to the house price one.
    Knowing the time to exit BEFORE you buy would be key
     
  4. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

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    yeah, in all my years of property investing, I still have no idea when to get out,
    although I m not trying to do mining towns, for nomal residential, for me getting out is too costly, eg selling agents fees and getting back in costs too much eg legal fees, stamp duty,

    I dont think I can see myself selling out unless I have to or I offloading duds
     
  5. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

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    exactly, I was chasing a $5k discount on a few western sydney properties aroudn the same time as nathan, had I bought tthem at asking price, id be laughing, and thats after doing loads and loads of research

    feel a bit dumb to be honest.

    I also predict continual growth for logan for example, however without the booms ike of west sydney

    so buying today at market prie might not be such a bad thing, however I think its almost now or never or even too late

    DYOR
     
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  6. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    I am confused buying at market price where???
     
  7. radson

    radson Well-Known Member

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    I agree with @MTR, as someone who grew up in Karratha, there was always talk of new projects etc but hard to really substantiate until work actually starts. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
     
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  8. bob shovel

    bob shovel Well-Known Member

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    Gossip is always rife in construction etc but knowing the fact from the fiction and being ready helps
     
  9. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    Which has been the ongoing case here in WA, continual talk of potential projects, but continual job losses.
     
  10. melbournian

    melbournian Well-Known Member

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    sometimes it's just good to reshuffle the cards - like those corporate restructures so you can sort of start fresh and not have to worry abt the ones that having holding costs etc.
     
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  11. Angel

    Angel Well-Known Member

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    There's now officially one less house for sale in Gladstone. "fewer" for the pedants. Mine just went unconditional, settlement in Feb.
     
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  12. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    Hi Angel
    What is next for you? Are you in a position to continue investing?
     
  13. Angel

    Angel Well-Known Member

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    I'm always open to ideas. I have to wait for some serviceability - my broker has performed a miracle getting us this far, we will wait until the Brisbane properties increase a lot more before testing the waters again. Trouble is that if they increase enough to allow us to buy something again, it will probably mean that we can retire from our day jobs then anyway.

    We dearly want to go travelling through this great country, so there will be a caravan and a truck to deck out as the next project. He doesn't admit it, but Mr Angel has been a lot less cranky since we received our re-finance approval last week. Mark spent last weekend building a bike rack in our trailer to make it easier to transport it to Melbourne. Last night I went to change the channel from too many 9Life flip shows, and he stopped me. He actually sat for hours with me yesterday getting ideas and building confidence to do something similar ourselves.

    We are going to Tasmania in two week's time.
     
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  14. Redwing

    Redwing Well-Known Member

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    A recent update

    Property prices in the Pilbara town of Karratha have halved to their lowest level in 11 years as the mining town suffers a double blow from falling iron ore and oil prices.

    Desperate sellers are slashing asking prices by more than $100,000 and some homeowners have been left nursing losses of nearly $300,000 on properties they bought just two years ago.

    LJ Hooker principal David Hipworth said conditions were the worst in 13 years Karratha's median house price continued to fall.

    "There is a huge gulf between anyone looking to purchase and anyone looking to sell," Mr Hipworth said.

    Figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia show the median house price in Karratha fell to $385,000 in the September quarter, the lowest since 2005.

    Just five years ago the median price was $880,000.

    Rents are also crashing.

    Corelogic figures released last week show the median rents across the Pilbara, which also includes Port Hedland, fell 9.1 per cent in the December quarter to $500 per week, after plunging 16.7 per cent in the preceding quarter.


    Read more:
     
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  15. Yson

    Yson Well-Known Member

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    Not sure how south can it go?
     
  16. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    Karratha, Pt Hedland, South Hedland, Newman I think are down around 45%, it can continue to fall if banks foreclose on properties and sellers just offload out of desperation. I am sure there are plenty of investors with vacant properties, who can not secure tenants. Its a blood bath.
     
  17. radson

    radson Well-Known Member

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    A bit biased as I'm in Karratha every month but at those prices, makes Karratha look slightly appealing.
     
  18. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    Really, perhaps you have great insight, but it still scares the beejesus out of me.

    My concern is that there is still an oversupply of rentals. What is the attraction other than a lower entry level. In 2001-2 properties in this area were selling for $200K??

    Prospects of Growth out the window for xx years....
    cash flow?? not sure but I presume properties will take longer to rent due to oversupply

    Also a distinct possibility of continued falls, not at all attractive for me.

    What do they say about mining booms, they work in 20 year cycles, not the same as property booms?
     
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  19. radson

    radson Well-Known Member

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    I have no special insight and I did say slightly... Karratha though does have advantage of not being a one horse town. Its an established regional centre for Iron Ore, LNG, Salt plus some agriculture and fishing.

    edit..agriculture and fishing is stretching things a bit
     
  20. Redwing

    Redwing Well-Known Member

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    Pilbara left with boom hangover

    The extent of the challenge faced by post-boom WA is beginning to emerge in the Pilbara, with empty homes, big debts and taxpayer-funded white elephants.

    More than 140 Housing Authority homes are vacant in Karratha — 114 of which are set aside for State Government employees but no longer required.

    And fears are growing in Port Hedland that showpiece Royalties for Regions projects could fall into disrepair or be bulldozed after the local council admitted it had concerns about its ability to fund their upkeep.
    ....
    Real Estate Institute of WA figures show the 2016 rolling median house price in Port Hedland is $599,000 – less than half of its 2013 peak of $1,222,500.

    Property owners faced similar losses in Karratha, where the rolling median house price has dropped from $815,000 in 2011 to $400,000.


    The downturn has left the Town with fewer than 10,000 rateable properties.
     

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