MILDURA is a gold mine for investors looking to buy positively geared property, says the founder of investment consultancy Buyers Agency Australia.
The company recently listed Mildura as one of the top five locations where investors could buy a property that would generate rental income greater than the costs associated with owning it.
The top five areas for finding positively geared properties were listed as the City of Logan, Bundaberg, Townsville, Mildura and Kerang.
BAA founder Dragan Dimovski said investors were keener than ever to find positively geared properties, thanks to market uncertainty caused by decreasing house prices and rising interest rates.
“These properties can still be found all across Australia, particularly now that property price growth has slowed and rental rates are rising,” Mr Dimovski said.
“However, regional areas often offer the best opportunities, with many people having relocated to these areas property prices are also usually lower than inner city areas.”
Mr Dimovski said Mildura, which has an almost record-breaking low rental vacancy rate, was appealing to investors who wanted to cover the costs of their properties.
“A three-bedroom house, which was in decent condition and on a large block of 765sq m close to the town centre and shops, was purchased for $330,000 for one of my clients,” Mr Dimovski said.
“The property is rented for $400 per week, equating to a yield of 6.3 per cent, with a vacancy rate in the area of 0.6 per cent.”
Mr Dimovski also had a similar situation in Kerang.
“Just a few months ago I purchased a three-bedroom house on a 560sw m block in the area for a client for $278,000,” he said.
“It is rented furnished for $430 per week, equating to a massive yield of eight per cent. What’s more is that the vacancy rate is just 0.3 per cent, so rentals are snapped up very quickly.”
Mr Dimovski said while properties in these locations didn’t necessarily experience the high capital growth rates of other homes, the cash flow enabled investors to be able to hold their higher growth, lower-yielding properties, hence balancing out their portfolio.
“Choosing a regional area where there is population growth and accompanying infrastructure, however, will lead to capital growth in these areas over the long term, as long as demand exceeds supply,” he said.
