QLD Townsville Flood

Certainly not.

Only a relatively small part of Brisbane is susceptible to flooding.
Marg

 

Exactly my point.

There are plenty of people who are dismissing Townsville as a place to invest based on this and other potential weather events alone. The majority of houses in Townsville weren’t affected by the flood.

Would I invest in a house affected by this flood? Probably not. That doesn’t mean I would rule out the entirety of Townsville as potential investment.

IMO, there is going to be a time over the next 3-5 years where Townsville will be one of the best performing markets in country. Especially if lending remains tight and people can’t afford to purchase in capital cities.

As I said, each to their own. Seems crazy to dismiss an entire town based on this flood though.

 

That's the problem with floods-cyclones wild storms ect, it only has to happen once in your investing life-time to wipe you out even when you have insurance ..Some investors while thinking fast and slow that I know that invest in cyclone alley from Cooktown to Brisbane only insure for 6 months in the cyclone timeframe because the cost factor for a year is sometimes above 7k for a full year,very risky as cyclones floods can come any time and are random..imho..

 

I bought a house in Townsville (Kirwan) in 2000 for $149,000. Its worth around $300,000 now. Never been flooded. I have seen insurance go up with major disasters and then a couple of years later the insurance drops right down. Currently $800 pa.

I bought a townhouse in Townsville (Rosslea) in 2004 and it had never flooded till they released the dam down. Insurance will cover the rebuild. This insurance has also been high but the last few years was quite low - $3,000 split between 7 townhouses.

Townsville was a great place to live for the 10 years I lived there and only went through 1 mini cyclone.

 

Any suburbs locals lean towards/avoid?

 

Well Kirwan wasn't flooded. Mount Louisa. Anything away from the ocean and waterways.
There wasn't a king tide with this flood or more houses could have been flooded.
The king tide is why the last flood decades ago was bad.
Lots of new suburbs opening up on outskirts of Townsville but don't think I'd head so far out.

 

Seeing value around Currajong, Gulliver, etc. Any suggestions around these areas? I'll be up there in 2 weeks for work. Interested for a drive around. Certainly some promising projects planned prior to the floods.

 

I have been gone about 9 years. High unemployment means cheaper areas house poor people. It would be important to not buy cheap in Townsville because you will have poor tenants often moving between houses. I bought the Kirwan house in 2000 for $149,000. By 2008 it was $400,000. Now its around $300,000. Always tenanted. Has a pool which sets it apart but it can be expensive. Brick and tile means less maintenance. Great place to live - Townsville and house. Good luck.

 

I have just put in an offer on a brick and tile 4*2 in Kirwan yesterday. Never been to Townsville...I think Townsville property will turn soon. Adani, battery factory, solar farm and port widening....Labour government is now focusing on North Queensland due to the shocking federal results.

 

Great! Ring around for the best insurance u can get and factor that into your costs. It's probably gone back up to $2000 or so for the year. Expect it to drop back again in a few years.

 

Insurance quote for 4*2 in Kirwan @ $1400 per year through Allianz with landlord cover, it's already come down in price. Rents have also gone up which is helpful. I think the Townsville market is showing positive signs.