'The current market is beneficial for buyers, if they're savvy...'
Here’s an excerpt from an
interview I did with Miriam Bell from Your Investment Property magazine....
'However,
Peterson’s Property Search founder, Tod Peterson believes the current market is
beneficial for buyers. ‘They have more leverage and more negotiating power in
this climate. As long as they are savvy, there are good opportunities for
buyers to come into the market.’
‘It’s worth
noting that Darwin properties are also still pulling in the highest rents in
the country’, Tod says. The latest
RP Data figures show that this is indeed the case, with Darwin houses recording
a yield of 5.9% and the city’s units posting a 6% yield.
‘Accommodation
is still tight up here. It can be a bit seasonal and demand is always strongest
during the Dry season. But, overall, demand remains high, especially when you
take short-term rentals into account.’
Despite
the more subdued environment dominating the market, there have been some
noteworthy developments in recent times.
One
such development is the Territory Government’s drive to promote the Top End’s
resources to China. The goal is to attract big agricultural and infrastructure
projects. A similar tactic was successfully used with Japan and resulted in the
Inpex Project. As a result of the Government’s efforts to reach out to China,
Tod says he has been increasingly dealing with Chinese investors. While they
have been interested in big blocks of land for food production and plantation
purposes, this trend could impact on the NT market further down the track.
Another
noteworthy development has been the state government’s efforts to deal with the
aforementioned squeeze on accommodation. There have been house and land
packages released in Palmerston and the northern suburbs of Lyons and Muirhead.
Tod says the state government is also interested in
making use of infill land. ‘The release of this land is a cheaper way to deal
with the accommodation problem – rather than setting up a whole new suburb and
putting in headworks.’
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