One of our most commented on stories of the week was the news of the slump in house prices in Mount Isa.
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A new report from valuers Herron Todd White found what most local home owners would already have known when it said the Mount Isa property and rental market has weakened by over a third in the last three years.
The Herron Todd White “Townsville in Focus August 2016” found Mount Isa’s median house price trend has lowered from a trend level of $383,200 in the June quarter of 2013 to $248,600 during the June quarter of 2016, an apparent reduction over the three years of 35%.
Rents in Mount Isa have also lowered significantly in the same timeframe with the median house rent down 37% and the median unit rent down by 43%, over the last three years.
While the news sounds gloomy, even the report authors admitted Mount Isa has the capability of bouncing back quickly.
Mount Isa Mayor Joyce McCulloch also weighed in saying the current dip in house prices did not represent the future of the city.
“It makes sense that we’re seeing a softening in housing sale and rental prices given the recent downturn we’ve seen in the mining industry,” Cr McCulloch said.
“But obviously we still have a lot of people involved in the mining industry here, and the industry remains strong. There are still huge volumes of minerals to be mined in this region”.
The Mayor said her Council has an optimistic view of Mount Isa’s future for our community.
“At the moment housing prices have become adjusted to a more normalised market and have become more affordable, meaning an excellent place for families and people to live,” she said. “All it will take is an upward swing in commodities, and we will see prices move again. We’ve seen it all before here in Mount Isa.”
In their analysis of Townsville (a city which is going through tough times like Mount Isa) Herron Todd White said residential property market conditions are showing signs of having ‘been through the worst’ and are starting to stabilise.
Let’s hope the same is true of Mount Isa. DB