10 major infrastructure projects flagged to influence property prices

Photo by Josh Spires (dronenr) on Unsplash

Analysis released yesterday revealed 10 infrastructure projects that could influence property prices in corresponding suburbs over the next few years.

National buyer's agency Propertyology identified 10 major projects spanning five states, which are said to have a "significant" influence on property markets in 25 separate locations.

Propertyology Head of Research Simon Pressley said there will always be a range of significant projects being developed, yet genuine property booms are few and far between.

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“From many years of property market studies, we’ve concluded that the property market impact from major project developments is determined by the scale of the economic benefits relative to the size of the community that it relates to,” he said.

"One of the most exciting things for Australian real estate right now is the biggest ever pipeline of major projects.”

Mr Pressley also said buyers might need to look outside the capital cities to see infrastructure projects that have the biggest impact on property markets.

"Infrastructure Australia has 147 major projects on its drawing board plus the various state and local governments collectively have an even bigger list of projects," he said.

Specific property market beneficiaries include Albury-Wodonga, Armidale, Beaudesert, Bendigo, Brisbane, Burnie, Cairns, Charters Towers, Dubbo, Glen Innes, Goondiwindi, Griffith, Hobart, Maroochydore, Narrabri, Parkes, Rockhampton, Seymour, Shepparton, Sydney, Tamworth, Toowoomba, Townsville, Wagga Wagga, and Whyalla.

The specific projects are listed below.

Ten projects flagged to influence property markets

10. Hells Gate Dam: A $5.3 billion project with potential markets influenced including Cairns, Townsville, Innisfail, Ingham, Ayr and Charters Towers.

9. Narrabri Gas Project: A $3.6 billion energy project in northwest NSW estimated to influence the Narrabri, Armidale, Tamworth and Glen Innes property markets.

8. Battery of the Nation: A $5 billion project in northwest Tasmania to produce hydro electricity, tipped to influence the Burnie property market.

7. Queens Wharf: A $3.6 billion entertainment precinct project in Brisbane's CBD, estimated to attract 1.39 million visitors per year.

6. Hobart International Airport: A $200 million three-stage expansion due for completion before end of 2020.

5. Maroochydore City: A $430 million project to develop Maroochydore as the Sunshine Coast's CBD, including commercial, retail and medium density residential developments, with high-speed internet, parklands, waterways and bicycle tracks.

4. Australia-Singapore Military Training Hubs: Singapore is investing $2.25 billion in Townsville and Rockhampton through facility infrastructure developments to support the training of 14,000 Singaporean military personnel every year for the next 25 years.

3. Western Parkland City: A series of major projects over the next 16 years worth around $20 billion to develop a new city in Sydney's outer west, including the $5.3 billion 'Nancy-Bird Walton' airport.

2. GFG Alliance Steelworks: A $600 million steel mill development for Whyalla, with construction due to commence late 2020, along with the $500 million Cultana solar farm set to improve SA's energy costs.

1. Inland Rail Project: A $10 billion rail project connecting ports in Melbourne and Brisbane to support a 75% increase in freight over the next decade. Various regional beneficiaries include Seymour, Bendigo, Shepparton, Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Parkes, Dubbo, Narrabri, Armidale, Goondiwindi, Toowoomba and Beaudesert.

Mr Pressley said the rail project was "numero uno" as it provides "economic benefits relative to the population sizes of the regional towns in question".

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Disclaimers

The entire market was not considered in selecting the above products. Rather, a cut-down portion of the market has been considered which includes retail products from at least the big four banks, the top 10 customer-owned institutions and Australia’s larger non-banks:

• The big four banks are: ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac
• The top 10 customer-owned Institutions are the ten largest mutual banks, credit unions and building societies in Australia, ranked by assets under management in November 2020. They are (in descending order): Credit Union Australia, Newcastle Permanent, Heritage Bank, Peoples’ Choice Credit Union, Teachers Mutual Bank, Greater Bank, IMB Bank, Beyond Bank, Bank Australia and P&N Bank.
• The larger non-bank lenders are those who (in 2020) has more than $9 billion in Australian funded loans and advances. These groups are: Resimac, Pepper, Liberty and Firstmac.

Some providers' products may not be available in all states. To be considered, the product and rate must be clearly published on the product provider's web site.

In the interests of full disclosure, Savings.com.au, Performance Drive and Loans.com.au are part of the Firstmac Group. To read about how Savings.com.au manages potential conflicts of interest, along with how we get paid, please click through onto the web site links.

*Comparison rate is based on a loan of $150,000 over a term of 25 years. Please note the comparison rate only applies to the examples given. Different loan amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees and costs savings, such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan.

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