Is Tasmania the Best Place for Investment Property in Australia?

As property prices have boomed right across Australia and now many in the real estate industry are predicting periods of slowdown, stagnation or even negative correction in destinations from Melbourne to Brisbane for example, is remote, lesser explored, out on a limb Tasmania the best (only?) place for investment property in Australia, or is there actually nowhere left for potential profitability and property price appreciation?

Well, Tasmania is certainly having its day as a great investment property destination for a number of factors that we will explore in this article – but there are many other destinations down under that offer an investor the chance to profit…let’s take a closer look!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again and again if necessary – one of the keys to successful property investment is understanding what’s driving a particular market or market sector and ensuring that there is sustainability to ensure ongoing rental demand and/or property price appreciation potential - and nowhere is this more important to get right than in a mature and slightly overblown market like Australia’s.

If you get it wrong you’ll be buying at the peak of the property market cycle and you will have to ride out stagnation or even correction and wait and wait to realise any profit from your property asset…get it right and you’ll find the locations such as Dongara, Port Denison, Stradbroke and Orford that are still investment property goldmines in Australia.

A recent report in The Australian highlighted a whole series of lesser known gems in Australia where property profits are still being generated and where property investors could do well in 2007…the excellent report by Maurice Dunlevy focused on destinations popular with retirees, second home seekers, key workers and even overseas buyers, and each destination type will be of appeal to a different type of investor.

Retirees are buying into communities one step away from previously popular hotspots because of affordability constraints, so an investor looking to target the babyboomer market can take this fact on board and target homes in San Remo for example which are still cheaper than similar properties in the previously more popular hotspot of Mornington Peninsula.  They can also use this new understanding and follow previous trends and then look one step ahead for where the buying market will go next and position themselves and their real estate assets accordingly.

Those looking to target the increasingly affluent mining workforce can consider locations such as Dongara and Port Denison; those looking at the local and international tourism interest market can certainly consider Tasmania as the best place for investment property in Australia.  The Tasmanian town of Orford is likely to grow considerably in terms of property prices and also levels of tourism interest because it is receiving multi million dollars of investment into amenities and infrastructure such as the Greg Norman golfing estate. 

Here there are chances to buy off plan and flip, buy to let or just acquire an attractive second home that will likely appreciate considerably in value and remain an easily saleable asset.  So, Tasmania is certainly a great place for investment property in Australia as I hope we’ve shown, but it is not the only place left with potential. 

You just need to look a little off the beaten track, understand and follow buyer trends and look ahead of the market to determine where factors such as affordability issues are likely to push the buying public and you will be able to make a success of a commitment to property in Australia.

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