Cairns

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The Cassowary Coast Regional Council area has seen a continued resurgence of the banana farm market, according to the latest rural report from valuation firm Herron Todd White.
Since July 2019, approximately 20 per cent of total rural sales over 20 ha comprise sales purchased for conversion to banana production or of going concern banana farms.
Banana prices have gradually improved since its 2016 low caused by the Panama TR4 banana disease, according to the report.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-10%20at%2011.43.40%20am.png" alt="">
Recent trends in banana prices in the Brisbane and Melbourne have both increased.
HTW director Danny Glasson notes 60 sales over 20ha has occurred in the region since July last year.
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Cairns region sees the resurgence of the banana farm market: HTW Rural

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The news that construction of a new irrigation dam near Cairns appears unlikely in the foreseeable future is cause for some concern, particularly given the high number of recent avocado and citrus tree plantings in the Mareeba and Dimbulah Irrigation Area, according to the latest rural report from valuation firm Herron Todd White.
This has impacted values in the region.
“The threat of drought, reduced irrigation water allocations, and the continued popularity of the avocado has led to change in northern horticultural industries,” the firm said.
"Fear of a repeat of the 2016/17 drought is never too far away from the minds of irrigators in Mareeba and the Atherton Tablelands."
Growers have adapted to water security concerns by constructing dams that utilise existing overland runoff and recycled irrigation water that would normally go to waste.
The benefit of these on farm dams is that they are not regulated by Sunwater, therefore the water is free from regulatory charges and the danger of reduced allocations.
To improve the efficiency of these dams, growers are also upgrading their pumping infrastructure with variable speed drives which have resulted in significant savings on their electricity bills.
The report also found that composting has emerged as a major new industry in the horticultural area in far north Queensland.
A large composting facility known as Shark Recyclers has been constructed in Biboohra, north of Mareeba.
It is reported to be a next-generation facility that is the largest licensed compost and soil conditioning manufacturing facility in Queensland.
This has helped growers in far north Queensland to expand into the profitable avocado sector. The recent sale of a mixed avocado and sugar cane property in the Mareeba district for nearly $60 million demonstrates the changing market.
Many growers have successfully transitioned from traditional mango and other tropical fruit crops to Shepard and Hass avocadoes, chasing the insatiable consumer demand for avocadoes.
Fruit prices in recent seasons have been very profitable with sales of going concern avocado farms very rare as growers have tended to hold on to these assets to take advantage of super profits.
Nearly 50,000 trees have been planted in recent years in the Mareeba and Atherton districts as growers look to cash in on continued high prices.
The full “Month-in-Review” Herron Todd White report for April 2020 can be found <a href="https://static.htw.com.au/HTW-month-in-review-April-2020-Rural.pdf" target="_blank">here.</a>
Note regarding COVID-19
This edition of Month In Review had its topic defined in late February with submissions from our offices collated through to late March. During this period, shifts in the social and economic landscape due to COVID-19 became increasingly dramatic, as demonstrated by the varied information provided by offices over the course of three weeks.
This month’s residential theme on baseline property market drivers remains a common thread, and provides an indication of what influences to monitor as the property sector recovers post-crisis.
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Cairns region home to both optimism and concern; HTW rural 

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The Cairns retail property market passed through the bottom of the cycle during the course of 2014, but the limited recovery thus far means that the retail property market remains relatively flat, according to the latest report from valuation firm Herron Todd White.
“It must be also said that retail property sales in Cairns are extremely sporadic, with most sales involving mixed use retail and office buildings or tenant buyouts of single premises,” the March report found.
The level of general commercial property sales in Cairns, inclusive of retail and commercial office premises, highlights that activity in the Cairns commercial market remains well below the pre GFC levels.
Sales volumes have been gradually rebuilding, but are still only averaging around 100 sales per annum. Median prices paid specifically for strata titled premises have increased mildly over the past several years, but the firm ultimately found that prices per square metre of floor area are mostly stable within the $2,500 to $4,500 range.
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Cairns retail market remains flat: HTW Commercial

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The Cairns economy and residential property market continue to plod along, according to a recent Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
The valuation firm asked their valuers to give an educated outlook on the residential market in their service areas.
"Our best guess is that 2020 will look a lot like 2019 (which looked a lot like 2018)," the valuation firm said. 
The report notes the $176 million redevelopment of the Cairns Convention Centre is due to commence in June 2020. With Riley, Bailey and Flynn (the Crystalbrook Collection Hotels) being finished, the first half of 2020 will lack a large construction project and the lack of activity may extend the normally quiet summer period further into 2020.
The changes to GST charges on foreign-flagged superyacht charters and predictions of a surge in superyachts visiting for leisure and maintenance is a real positive for Cairns and is exactly the type of stimulus needed to support the local property market.
2020 is an election year with council elections due on Saturday, 28 March 2020 and state government elections due on Saturday, 31 October 2020.
"Unfortunately the uncertainty elections cause tends to have a negative impact on market activity with people delaying decisions until after the dust has settled," the valuation firm said.
"If we had to have a wager on where the residential market would be in December 2020 our bet would be the same or slightly less sales than 2019 and median prices similar to or slightly below 2019." 
A two bedroom apartment in Cairns CBD has recently been sold for $232,000.
Located at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-qld-cairns+city-132182730" target="_blank">2/157 Grafton Street </a>(pictured below), the apartment comes with open plan living and dining, kitchen, balcony and two bedrooms upstairs.
The property last sold for $320,000 in 2005. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/3/9/cairns%20city.jpg" alt="">
 
A current listing is a two bedroom apartment in Cairns City with uninterrupted views. 
The apartment at<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-qld-cairns+city-132927182" target="_blank"> 3/138 Abbott Street </a>(pictured below) has been listed for sale with a price of over $400,000.
It comes with designer kitchen, open plan living, front patio and undercover parking.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/3/9/carins%202.jpg" alt="">
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Cairns property market to continue to plod in 2020: HTW residential 

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The Cairns retail property market passed through the bottom of the cycle during the course of 2014, but the limited recovery thus far means that the retail property market remains relatively flat, according to the latest retail report from valuation firm Herron Todd White.
The property valuation firm found that it must be also said that retail property sales in Cairns are extremely sporadic, with most sales involving retail property of mixed use retail and office buildings or tenant buyouts of single premises.
The level of general commercial property sales in Cairns, inclusive of retail and commercial office premises, highlights that activity in the Cairns commercial market remains well below the levels achieved in the 2003 to 2007 period.
Sales volumes have been gradually rebuilding over the past nine years, but are still only averaging around 90 to 100 sales per annum.
The HTW report authors said, "median prices paid specifically for strata titled premises have increased mildly over the past seven years, but our general impression is that prices per square metre of floor area are mostly stable within the $2,500 to $4,500 range for strata units."
"High exposure CBD retail space remains reasonably well occupied, but vacancies are more noticeable in the lesser exposure locations and on the CBD fringe. Rents have remained generally stable, showing ranges of $600 to $800 per square metre per annum for prime CBD space and $1,000 to $1,750 per square metre per annum in key tourist precincts such as the Cairns Esplanade."
"Blue chip retail located within the main Esplanade tourist strip as well as the central business district show reasonably low vacancies, though there is also limited demand from new businesses."
"There remains good investor demand for well leased properties which rarely come onto the market."
"The Cairns retail property market overall has experienced little change thus far during 2019 and is expected to see little change for the remainder of the year," they concluded.
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Cairns retail property market remains stagnant: HTW Retail

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Due to a decade of subdued levels of construction, positive population growth, reasonably flat property prices and increasing rents, the Cairns residential property market offers some of the most attractive yields available anywhere in Australia, according to a recent Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
The valuation firm took look at rental yields across the nation. 
CoreLogic’s Top Rental Performer’s Report recently named Woree and Manunda as the third and fourth highest yielding suburbs in the country, offering gross yields of 10.8% and 9.5% respectively. 
These types of yields are typically achievable from low price units and houses.
The report notes another property type where strong yields are available are holiday units in certain well performing complexes.
"We have seen net yields for some dual key units in excess of 8%, the only problems being that the units are only suitable for short term accommodation which makes obtaining finance difficult and the more volatile nature of the income as it is directly tied to tourism," the valuation firm said. 
"A key point about our market is the lack of pending supply and how it is difficult to see the current balance of supply and demand changing to an oversupply situation in the foreseeable future.
"This should give investors comfort that the low rental vacancy rates and current rent levels are due to solid market fundamentals and are unlikely to change in a negative way."
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Low units and house prices offer attractive yields in Cairns: HTW residential 

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The Cairns office market is relatively shallow and experiences limited sales activity, according to the latest report from property valuation firm Herron Todd White.
They found, the market has also experienced limited new development, with the last very large office building constructed in Cairns being the state government office tower completed in 2010.
The level of general commercial property sales in Cairns, inclusive of retail and commercial office premises, highlights that activity in the Cairns commercial market remains well below the levels achieved in the 2003 to 2007 period.
Sales volumes have been gradually rebuilding over the past nine years, but are still only averaging around 90 to 100 sales per annum.
The report authors said, "median prices paid specifically for strata titled premises have increased mildly over the past seven years, but our general impression is that prices per square metre of floor area are mostly stable within the $2,500 to $4,500 range."
"Most new office space leasing demand is for smaller areas and for modern, good quality green star rated premises, however there is only a handful of such buildings in Cairns. These buildings achieve high levels of occupancy and are experiencing stable rent levels typically of $350 to $450 per square metre per annum."
"Demand for lesser quality space remains limited and there is a large oversupply of good quality non-inner CBD and well exposed secondary space in the $200 to $300 per square metre per annum rental range. These conditions have placed downward pressure on secondary rents and have seen the emergence of incentives."
"The most recent sale of a large office building was the design and construct of the new Ergon premises in Bunda Street, Cairns City."
"The property sold for $14.7 million in May 2019 providing an analysed yield of 6.4%. The building comprised two levels of high quality office with a total area of 2,400 square meters, 68 car parks and an initial ten year lease term," they said.
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Cairns office market subdued and stable: HTW Commercial

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The Cairns residential property market has continued along a fairly steady path for the first half of the year with no noticeable changes, according to the latest Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
"Values are fairly steady, volumes remain flat and there is no obvious oversupply in any residential market sector," the valuation firm commented. 
Vacancy rates remain tight with limited quality stock available and little new supply coming online.
"The GA Group projects are progressing well and it is starting to look like there won’t be any follow up projects such as Nova City ready to go, so we may see a dip in construction activity once they are complete," HTW said. 
The announcement from Cathy Pacific that they will pull out of Cairns after flying in for 25 years is an unwelcome dent on confidence and adds further to the feeling that the gains in tourism in recent years might be levelling off.
"Overall it is difficult to be particularly optimistic about the next six months and a continuation of existing conditions may be considered a good result by the time we get to December." 
A two bedroom apartment in Cairns City with water and mountain views has recently been sold for $558,000.
Situated on the fourth floor, <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-qld-cairns+city-131178634" target="_blank">unit 403 at 27-29 Wharf Street</a> (pictured below) comprises two bedrooms with walk in robes, open plan living and dining areas, large balcony and kitchen with bench tops. 
The complex features resort-style swimming pool, gym, BBQ area and intercom. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/7/1/cairns%20city%201.jpg" alt="">
A current listing is a historic Freshwater home priced around $600,000.
Set on a 924 square metre block, the Queenlander style home at<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-freshwater-131300182" target="_blank"> 119 Old Smithfield Road</a> (pictured below) comes with four bedrooms, office/study or fifth bedroom, family living room and timber pannelled kitchen. 
Other features include large laundry/utility room, purpose built workshop, in-ground pool, and tropic gardens. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/7/1/freshwater.jpg" alt="">
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Vacancy rates in Cairns remain tight: HTW residential 

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There were 4,926 Cairns homes sold over the 12 months to February 2019, down 11% when compared to the previous 12 month period, according to the latest CoreLogic Regional Report. 
It suggest that dwelling values across the region fell year-on-year with house values down just -0.7% and unit values down 2.1% over the year to March 2019.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/6/5/cairns%201.jpg" alt="">
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2019/6/5/cairns%202.jpg" target="_blank">Click here </a>to enlarge:
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/6/5/cairns%202.jpg" alt="">
Source: CoreLogic
Over the same period, renting became more expensive with advertised rental rates across the Cairns region increasing by $15/week for both houses and units.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/6/5/cairns%203.jpg" alt="">
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2019/6/5/cairns%204.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/6/5/cairns%204.jpg" alt="">
Source: CoreLogic
It is the biggest increase across all five regions in Queensland. 
The average time it took to secure a sale on a Cairns house increased by five days over the year to February, while the average Cairns unit was selling five days faster.
Vendor discounting levels increased over the year for both houses and units in order to secure a sale.<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2019/6/5/cairns%205.jpg" target="_blank"></a>
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2019/6/5/cairns%205.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/6/5/cairns%205.jpg" alt="">
Source: CoreLogic
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Cairns sees Queensland's biggest regional rent increases: CoreLogic

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A two bedroom one bathroom mortgagee unit in Cairns North, Qld has been sold for $180,250. 
Ray Murphy of RE/MAX Cairns held the listing.
Situated at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-qld-cairns+north-129907894" target="_blank">2/323 McLeod Street, Cairns North</a>, the home is located inside of the Aztec Court gated complex which features an in-ground pool.
Set on 86 sqm the property contains one parking space.
According to the listing the home has an estimated rental income of $300 - $330 per week.
Last sold in 2004 the home traded for $169,000.
It was listed on and off as a rental from 2006 to 2014, originally at a price point of $210/pw and rising incrementally to $280/pw in 2014.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/subscribe" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/1/Subscriber%20strip%20ad.jpg" alt=""></a>
The median price for a unit in <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/5170-cairns-north-qld" target="_blank">Cairns North</a> is $332,000 according to CoreLogic, which calculate its annual change in median price over the past 10 years as -1.2%.
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