NSW South Coast - Shoalhaven

That is sad. Everyone needs to get paid at some stage but client needs must come first, and failing to deliver this will destroy a business long term. Sorry to hear it.

 

He is still my accountant which he is very good at. I think he should concentrate on one company especially when it is 2 big companies.

 

Vacancy rates in southern Shoalhaven at new lows of 0.6%, seasonal yes but as you can see the winter peak has been falling year on year and didn't get above 1% this year. Love a tight rental market.

 

The mini-mall is open, was apparently pretty busy with the lead up to xmas.
Vincentia Marketplace Shopping Centre
All of the new estate behind it is selling as far as I know too.

 

Yes, a few people from work have bought/built in Bayswood recently in stage 10/11.

Bayswood - Home

I looked there back in 2010 when they started to sell stage 2/3 but it was a bit far out of town for me but they were talking up the proposed Stocklands shopping centre next door so I am glad to see it finally eventuate even though in a somewhat smaller scale.

 

That's the one.
How much were the blocks going for back in 2010?

 

I think from memory they were about $130-150K for a decent size block (500-600m2) if you could get one as most were only available as House & Land packages for around the $400K mark (maybe just over) which was out of my preferred price range and a bit far from work.

Ended up spending $350K on a 4 year old 4/2/2 in Nowra (<10 mins to work) on a 700m2 block but only issue now is I still live in Wollongong and work in Nowra but at least if things change I can move into a nice house which didn't cost that much compared to prices today.

 

Thanks for the info.
That's not too bad I spose, but I wonder where everyone works.

 

Hi all, I was gong to Kiama and saw a few developments going on around Albion park. I am looking into costal investment not sure if south or north coast has more long term potential...

Any advice will be appreciated.. Thanks

 

Defence.............

 

Is defence down there growing at some alarming rate or something?

 

Not really, probably actually reducing in really terms and employment moving from government entities to private enterprise in support of larger defence contracts.

The only reason I say defence is its probably one of the larger employee groups in the region still with cash. Been a bit doom and gloom with some of the other larger employers closing in the region of the last few years.

 

The largest sectors are healthcare, retail and admin followed by construction.

 

HMAS Albatross is going through a sizeable expansion which has recently been completed

 

Probably only 33% completed with a new facility opened on the western side of the runway within Albatross (adjacent to Yerriyong) late last year but they are still building the new HATS (Helo Training) facility within the existing footprint of Albatross along with more new commercial, administration and accommodation facilities.

Some of the other related growth coincides with the expansion with new organisations and facilities to support Navy aviation being constructed outside the base at the Albatross Aviation Technology Park at Yerriyong.

But when in comes to incomes I would say the Defence sector is by far the largest $$$$$ wage packet per person in the region even though the other sectors may have more employee. The only people working in the Defence sector that are not getting significantly better wages than those in the sectors you quote are the poor unskilled employees of the prime support contractors to Defence (e.g. cleaners, distribution, security etc.)

If your in the ADF or Defence APS or in skilled employment related to Defence the wages are significantly above what can be earned in town and the reason why I mentioned they have "cash" IMHO.

 

What's your price range?

This will determine what can be had in the "newer" areas. A few on PC have IPs in existing areas south of the lake but most are older establish houses.

To buy in new development areas you can see from the roads on the way to Kiama is likely to cost you >$600K while existing houses in surrounding areas maybe able to found in the <$500K range.

The closer you get to Sydney the more $$$ it costs but south of Wollongong there are some areas that are cheaper but prices generally start to go up again the closer you get to Kiama then again after Berry the prices drop off.

 

Income levels

Defence comes under Public Admin and Safety
Workers (Working In Shoalhaven) - Income

Healthcare
Workers (Working In Shoalhaven) - Income

Retail
Workers (Working In Shoalhaven) - Income

Manufacturing
Workers (Working In Shoalhaven) - Income

Education and Training
http://remplan.co/1O4B4xG

 

Apparently the new mall added something like 500 jobs to the area. Seems like a lot, maybe that was during construction.

 

If you walk through the retail strips in Shoalhaven Council you will note that there number of retail vacancies have reduced significantly over the past year and Council itself believes Retail, Healthcare and Education will be their growing sectors.

 

I don't disagree with you based on total numbers in each sector but my point is the level of wages that can be earned in each sector differs greatly.

From my anecdotal evidence gained from the talking to people that work, or have worked in town, over the last 15 years wages aren't that good and Defence pays better even for a basic admin job.

To use your tables and a salary of $1000/wk ($52K pa) as a baseline to show what I mean, the % of workers in each sector earning above that are as follows:

Public Admin and Safety (Defence): 71%
Healthcare: 32%
Retail: 10%
Manufacturing: 35%
Education and Training: 50%

There maybe less Defence workers in the region but disposable income is higher in "most instances" when compared to other sectors.