Townsville gets ready for 2 decades of growth
The city is gearing up to be a hub of Queensland population growth over the next 22 years.
Developer Urbex has revealed it is committing to two new master-planned communities in the Townsville area, which are to be located at Bohle Plains and in the Upper Ross region.
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It comes as the developer anticipates the population of the northern Queensland city is set to contribute to 3.1 per cent of Queensland’s growth over the next 22 years.
Urbex said the local property market in Townsville has shown “consistent growth and stability, making it an appealing choice for real estate investment and new buyers entering the market”.
The group also acknowledged the housing challenges already at play in the Townsville area, stemming from limited availability in existing markets.
They are some of the reasons behind Urbex’s decision to commit to the delivery of more than 1,000 homesites across Bohle Plains and the Upper Ross region over the next 15 years, amid a notable surge in new home buyers and investors eyeing opportunities in new home construction, which is being fuelled by Townsville’s relative affordability and high rental returns.
Urbex Realty general manager, Craig Covacich, said the start of 2024 had seen a boost in local market confidence and sales volume for new development and construction following on from the pause in interest rates and the stabilisation of building costs.
He, too, acknowledged that the demand for new homes is on the rise, “due to the lack of existing dwellings in the market and build supply costs steadying”.
It’s a sentiment shared by Keir Constructions, a local business which has been “inundated” with new requests from buyers to build their own home, that has also been bolstered by the grants available to residents of the region.
“Building supplies and contractors are much more readily available now than the last few years, and while costs are increasing, it is at a much slower pace than previously,” said Brad Keir, owner and director of the construction outfit.
“Our average build time is currently at five months, which is leaps ahead of construction timelines during COVID, and with government grants now available to first home buyers, we are seeing more and more enquiries for new builds,” he concluded.
