Now is the time for property investors to be buying in Cairns!

  • By Peter Gordon
  • •
  • 12 Oct, 2021

Australia's sixteen largest city is home to the Nations fifth busiest airport (approximately 5 million passengers a year). Cairns is Australia's gateway to the Asian Century and the exciting opportunities that exist with the rise of Asia's middle class. It is also home to the ever-expanding Naval base that will protect our borders.

Cairns assets include an international airport, a major sea port, a large number of impressive tourism attractions, world class facilities for hosting major events and business conferences, ongoing investment in universities and health care, and an abundance of agricultural assets in the region.

Investment & Employment

In the past many people have thought that Cairns' economy was too heavily reliant on being a tourist mecca, but tourism doesn't even make it into the top five of its largest industries. It has added important economic diversity over the last decade making it far more stable and attractive for property investors. Education, heath, construction and defence industries have all evolved.

The Navy is Cairns' biggest employer. The Federal Government has been heavily investing by expanding the Naval Base and dramatically increasing the port capacity to take larger boats. It can now accommodate ships up to 300mtrs long due to massive dredging and port expansions. Hundreds of extra jobs are being created in marine manufacturing and maintenance from the $2 Billion defence force fleet upgrade.

Maritime industries play a huge part in the Cairns economy and the scale for growth here is huge. From fishing to cruise cships and boat maintenance, Cairns is poised to be one of the the major maritime regions in the Pacific.

Both James Cook and Central Queensland Universities are undergoing continual expansion to attract more domestic and international students.

In July 2016, Cairns became the headquarters for a new Federal Government department, administering the $1 Billion North Australia infrastructure fund.

Both State and Federal funding has contributed to tenders being awarded to build a massive export hub at the Cairns International Airport. Cairns was chosen as the location ahead of Townsville and Toowoomba and other Queensland cities due to it's ideal location. The facility will enable larger volumes of exports to move more smoothly to Asia and the rest of the world.

Covid aside, Cairns rate of job creation has exceeded state and national averages by a wide margin. A massive pipeline of major projects approved and  are underway and will create thousands of more new jobs in coming years.

To get an idea of the massive amount of projects underway, please see the following report - click here.  


Population Growth

Population growth in Cairns has been above state and national averages for over a decade and is set to continue. With such massive exposure from tourism, a large source of the growth is from overseas migration. With so much job growth and fantastic relative affordability and lifestyle, population growth is expected to accelerate post Covid.

The Property Market


Now let's look at the property market which has been flat for well over a decade. This is largely due to an over-supply around 10 years ago that took around three years to be absorbed. Then the APRA credit restrictions kept a handbrake on the market, as it did around the country.

Now, due to very little construction over the past five years, there is a massive under-supply of homes at a time when demand is huge. So prices have started to rise and local real estate agents are experiencing the best market conditions in well over a decade. Monthly sales volumes are rising and days on the market are decreasing which are indicators prices are set to rise solidly.

Supply & Demand

Since 2010, only 450 to 700 new dwellings have been approved each year. With population growth at just under 3,000 people annually, it’s easy to see where the undersupply comes from. This low volume of new housing supply combined with affordability and jobs driven demand is the perfect combination for property price growth.

Rental Vacancy Rates

The vacancy rate sits well below 1% and local managing agents have databases full of perspective tenants waiting for somewhere to rent. Many homes are getting over 30 applications as soon as they are listed, with renters offering higher than advertised rents to secure properties.

Low vacancy rates are an indicator of low supply and price growth. (this is just a new line) not a headline.

If you're considering investing in Cairns we're here to help!

We have many options available and believe now is the right time to invest. Let us assist you and show you opportunities that are available, check out our property page or contact me for a Zoom meeting.
schedule a Zoom Meeting  here 

Introducing The Palms Estate, Cairns - The Northern Beach's Premier Address

By Peter Gordon • April 26, 2023

Quiet simply, the Palms is the place to buy!

The northern beaches of Cairns is the Nation's best location for property investors right now, and The Palms is the premier development in this boom region.

It has the best location being elevated and backing onto the rainforest. It will have amazing facilities with a shopping village, a primary school, parks and green open space, a water park and an expanse of wildlife corridors.

It has taken the developers three years to get planning approval for this unique development to be able to hit the market. There are only 300 lots spread across 85 acres of the best land in The Northern Beaches.  Residents will have an abundance of open space right at their doorstep.  The Palms is also the only Certified Enviro Development project in Far North Queensland.

> Cairns Snapshot

In the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, the winner is ... Brisbane

By Peter Gordon • April 20, 2023

Sydneysiders and Melburnians, put aside your equally outstanding flat whites for a moment. Stop bickering about whether great beaches beat cool laneways (they do) and desist from debating whether all baristas require waxed moustaches (ideally).

Because Brisbane is closing in on the title of Australia’s best city, and we must join forces to keep this subtropical upstart in its place.

Time  magazine recently named Brisvegas on its “World’s Greatest Places” list, and omitted our cities. It’s a huge shock (and who knew they still published Time  magazine?). But they might be onto something.

Time  points to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be hosted in the maroon metropolis. Brisbane will do a fine job, even though it’ll baffle the world when rugby league is added to the schedule and Queensland is allowed to field its own team.

Time’s  most radical claim is that Brisbane is worth visiting now, but tourism is surging. Not only did Lin-Manuel Miranda recently drop in to catch Hamilton , but hundreds of Hamilfans flew up to watch his interview with Leigh Sales (presumably unaware that it would subsequently arrive on iView for free).

Incredible Lifestyle At An Affordable Price  Equity of approx $390K on completion

By Peter Gordon • April 6, 2023
This small duplex development just a short drive from Hervey Bay on Queensland’s beautiful Fraser Coast, offers an incredible lifestyle at an affordable price. With unprecedented demand and very limited supply, prices look set to skyrocket.

A leading local agent has appraised each side of these duplex's to be worth $665k on completion and rent for $495 per week. So that is massive potentail instant equity of up to $390K on completion, which is incredibly hard to find.
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