Could Cairns Be the Big Winner From COVID-19?
Cairns may be one of the big beneficiaries of the Sunshine State’s strong record in combating the spread of COVID-19.
The Cairns property market was already looking solid in 2019, spurred on by the jobs boom being created through hotel construction and the tourism sectors.
While many of the tourism jobs have been put on hold in the short-term, thanks to the border closures, Cairns is likely to be one of the winners as more Australian’s choose to holiday at home in the coming 12-18 months.
There’s also growing research that suggests Cairns and other coastal towns will see a number of ‘sea and tree changers’ who are now going to be looking to work from home. The recent lockdown measures have seen many businesses around Australia adopt a new workforce and number of major coastal communities look set to attract plenty of new people in the coming few years.
Interestingly, the COVID induced recession we are facing is the same type of situation the region went through during the 1990s and the recession ‘we had to have.’
During a period where people were losing their jobs around the country, the Cairns property market actually rocketed higher. Between 1991 and 1994, Cairns property prices grew in value by 40 per cent.
The overall Cairns market grew in value at a time when employment in Australia was falling with the unemployment rate spiking to 10.1 per cent. Cairns was the third best performing property market in the country during the last recession, behind only Perth and Darwin.
House Price Growth in Cairns
This is the type of thing we’re already slowly starting to see in 2020. Data analytics company HtAG, has seen steady price growth across Cairns in 2020, with a number of suburbs performing strongly.
According to HtAG, Cairns has a median house price of $464,000 which has increased so far in 2020, by 0.91 per cent, based on 491 sales.
When we examine where the growth has been there are a number of suburbs that have seen strong results so far this year.
Price Growth in 2020 in Cairns: Source HtAG
Some of the top-performing suburbs in Cairns in 2020 have been Palm Cove, which has grown by 3.65 per cent.
Stratford, which has grown by 3.71 per cent, while Redlynch has grown by 6.0 per cent.
HtAG are also predicting that there are a number of suburbs that could see strong growth in the next few years.
The property forecasting firm is predicting that Gordonvale houses will grow in price by 8.45 per cent by 2022.
The growth in Redlynch is also predicting to continue into 2022, with the expectation the suburb will see house price growth of 6.66 per cent. While Cairns North is predicting to see price growth of 4.26 per cent by 2022.
It’s important to remember, that the Australian property market is not one market. It’s made up of thousands of smaller markets all around the country and every state is different.
As we’ve seen, cities such as Cairns have a lot going for them during these times in our history and it could present a great opportunity for savvy investors.
Share this page