Odd Spot Australian Property News

Well its hard to find any good new that relates to Australian property investment these days. But here's a couple that caught the eye recently.

Given the parlous state the iron ore industry which currently laying off thousands of workers since Christmas its interesting to see that a caravan park in Karratha has been snapped up by investors for $12 million.

The caravan park is within the town's industrial area and has nothing to do with gray nomads and tourism. Caravan Parks in the northwest are full of workers who can't afford anything else. The 3ha site had 110 caravan bays and 26 cabins and boasted a 96% occupancy rate.  The investors still see a long-term future for Karratha because of large projects with long lead times.

Karratha council is still looking for more affordable accommodation to cater for both tourists and small contractors who are left out as commercial accommodation is snapped up by the bigger companies. There is still a reported shortage of some 700 homes in Karratha. The caravan park has return on investment of 16.5% and was originally put on the market for $13 million.

Typical Caravan Park, Australia

Interest on the Rise in Small Commercial and Industrial Sector

Elsewhere its being reported that investors are being tempted into industrial and commercial property given the low interest rates and poor stock market returns. Business are also looking at buying a business premises rather than continuing to lease.

Owner occupiers are particularly showing interest in the 1000sqm to 5000sqm range and overseas interest from Asia is also hotting up, on the back of a weak Aussie dollar.

Or is there is this just another example of the newspapers talking up the market?