Oz price boom

Ten key centres in Australia look set to experience a residential property price boom as the country's economy continues to show genuine signs of recovery, according to one Australia property expert, reports the Australian Associated Press (AAP)...

Australia Real estate forecaster Terry Ryder has tipped the Western Australian resource boom towns of Port Hedland and Karratha to again grow strongly while agriculture and tourism are tipped to benefit Orange in NSW and north west of that state.

In his "National top 10 Boom Town Hotspots" report Mr Ryder recommends investing in the cities of Bunbury in WA and Newcastle in New South Wales.

The remaining eight towns to make it into the list include Ceduna in South Australia, Gladstone in Queensland, Geraldton, Port Hedland and Karratha in WA, Portland in Victoria, Orange and the north-west of NSW.

Mr Ryder also warned investors to shy away from buying in "Pure mining towns".

He said investors could benefit from Australia's new wave of mining by focusing on strategically located regional centres that were set to benefit from major new projects.

"While investors who get in early can make big capital gains, most mining towns exist in a bubble, which can burst if demand for resources drops, the local mine closes or housing demand falls away after construction of a major project is completed," Mr Ryder said in a statement.
Mr Ryder is the director of the property website www.hotspotting.com.au.

"Property buyers looking for boom town investments are better served looking for nearby regional centres that will enjoy the economic surge of major new projects, but are not solely dependent on it for their prosperity."

Mr Ryder said all the locations on the list had exposure to the mining and resources sector while being based on well-rounded regional economies.

He identified the desalination plant in Bunbury, a port upgrade in Ceduna, port and rail links in Geraldton, industry and tourism in Gladstone and port and rail links in Newcastle as major factors in their inclusion in the list.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news