REALESTATE.COM.AU SUNDAY MARCH 6 2015

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Market experts are divided on whether WA's mining towns have reached rock bottom. ANNABEL HENNESSY reports.

WITH prices plummeting to 2008 lows and the resources industry "the slowest in decades'', it's no secret the Pilbara's

property market has taken a hit. And while some buyers are

seeing an opportunity to start bargain hunting, experts are divided on whether the worst is yet to come for the formerly booming region.

Crawford Realty managing director Ryan Crawford said he believed the market was nearing recovery.

"The markets have experienced substantial drops as a result of the slowest industry period we have seen in decades," he said.

"I do believe that the worst is behind us for the Pilbara markets and with the impending project increases this year, I expect to see a

.._. gradual improvement." Mr Crawford, whose company

operates in the region, said there were opportunities for investors to get in at ''bottom" prices. He said the market was a risky prospect, but the pay-off could be big.

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REALESTATE 9

NEWS

oomor ust? INVESTOR Darren Hunt doesn't like to do things by halves~ ~f ·

The lnnaloo rilan has just 5pent more than $1.5 million buyi~g two 11~ in SouthTtt ·· Hedfand - a hou~and· land package for~" $773.00and an '.~ established home for $775.ooo. _,

A worker in the resource industry, Mr Hunt expects to receive between $1600·$1800 rent a week for ellch

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Hedland," the 38-ye old said. "(In Perth it would be much hard to find.something th was po.sitively gear returning those kin rents.~_ ..

He hopes to get a inco~of $70.000 year from the properties.

'Tm aware of wha happening with mini and iron ore prices. I'm hoping by buying bottom or close to bottom I'll be able to .profit fongterm,n he said.

Mr Hunt said his investment journey began in 1998 when h parents encouraged h to buy a block of land.

"I've been able to. down.most of my existingdebtand no · I'm looking to set myself up. for etirement," {;..

''What might take an investor a decade in city markets to achieve can be done in a couple of years in tl!ese regions due to the fast­moviµg nature of the pricing and returris in these towns," he said.

Regions need stamp duty relief: REIWA PILBARA DOWNTURN '·

"Unlike capital-city property cycles, which take eight-10 years to run full cycle, resource markets historically run full swing in three to four years."

But investment expert Damian Collins said he was yet to see any signs ofrecovery in the Pilbara.

''With what's happening with iron ore prices, I doubt we'll see any growth any time soon," Mr Collins said.

He said while high rental yields in the Pilbara might be appealing to some investors, they should realise they come "with a price".

He said while the South West holiday home market was experiencing some buoyancy, investors would be safer to look towards Perth.

"The rental yields might be high when you buy, but there's no guarantee they'll stay like that and the Pilbara market is known for its volatility," he said.

Hegney Property Group founding director Gavin Hegney

THE Real Estate Institute of WA has called on the State Government to provide relief to struggling mining towns.

REIW A president David Airey said he would like to see a temporary stamp duty exemption introduced to the Pilbara and Kimberley to help stabilise the

also believed the Pilbara market was not yet in recovery.

"A rule of thumb of telling whether a market has bottomed out is whether homes are selling for below replacement costs," he said.

"Given the high price of building, I don't think the Pilbara is there yet."

Mr Hegney said when considering a regional investment, buyers should think about the earning and buying capacity of locals. He said Pilbara prices had been "over-inflated" by short-term workers.

"Essentially it's a shallow

market hit hard by the mining downturn.

"I don't think it's high on the Government's radar atthe moment, but a temporary stamp duty exemption would help bring sales and activity to the market after heavy falls," Mr Airey said.

He said while he believed the

market, so I'm not a big fan of it," he said. ''You never want to buy into an economy that is overly dependent on one industry."

He warned investors hoping for another boom that regional markets would typically have a "slow period" following a bust.

''You should never buy based purely on history alone," he said.

Port Hedland real estate agent Jan Ford said the region had always understood boom prices were not sustainable. Sentiment was positive and the town was working steadily towards its target population of 50,000 by 2035.

Peel, South-West and Margaret River areas had recovered after a year of sluggish property growth, Kimberley and Pilbara towns were still struggling. "It's too early to call whether we've reached recovery yet, but I'd like to see a stabilisation in the market," he said.

Ms Ford said there had been a recent pick-up in activity and increased interest from property investors.

"You never know whether you've hit bottom until recovery starts," she said.

According to a recent WA Government report, average advertised rental prices in the Pilbara's three major towns dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter in December.

Port Hedland's average advertised "for sale" price of $776,000 was its lowest since March2007.

1;mmrn.uwl ' Average advertised rental is at a seven-year low of $1153 a week compared to $2544 in the 2012 peak.

Average sale price is now $775,000 compared to $1.2m in 2012.

Advertised weekly rental has dropped for the 13th quarter, down from a 2011 high of $1784 to $820 . .

Average sale price is now $593,803 compared to $900,000 in 2011.

Average advertised weekly rental is now $892 compared to $2200 in 2012.

Average sale price is $626,036 compared to $1min2012.

Source: Pi Ibara Housing& Land Snapshot/ Realestate.com.au

Survey shows more women than men on a web quest WITH International Women's Day today, one Perth property company couldn't resist sending through a picture of its 23-woman office.

It's fair to say if the picture was taken 104 years ago -when the day was first instituted internationally - it would likely have been a different one.

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However, property management agency Rentwest says since starting in 2007, the office found more women have sought to kickstart their careers in the field.

Statistics show about half of WA property employees are women.

Women are also powering property searches online with

,55_pe,r ,cent of website s.earc2s

female, a spokeswoman for Day picture: ''We are a team of realestate.com.au said. 23 women and together we

She said 84 per cent of have 232 years' worth of women were searching for a property management house under $750,000, and experience. The fact that we just under half were looking are an all-female team at the for their dream home by moment doesn't mean that we searching the portal every day. haven't had male employees.

Rentwest director Suzanne But in our experience, Browne, pictured back row, far property management seems right, with colleagues, said of to attract more women." tier International W..=.O.x:VlJ::;;:~"'!l""'s~.,_w _ ___,'---~~-'-"~~....::.;M=ara F...::o;.:.:x'-_..,....~~-~~--....,,.,""""......,..

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