General News
24 February, 2021
Rentals hot property
RENTAL properties across the region have become hot property in recent months.
RENTAL properties across the region have become hot property in recent months. Unable to keep up with current demand, rentals have become a rare commodity.
However this is not necessarily a bad thing as it shows growth and prosperity after a time of recession. With the current rise in demand for housing, there is an equal rise in new residents moving to the area with many relocating from other towns and cities in search of jobs and a rural lifestyle.
There are simply just not enough rental properties currently available to stem the tide of new residents looking to settle. The current limited rental market and heightened building market has become a telltale sign of the region’s current economic and industrial development.
Norma Moloney from Ray White Mareeba said that the local rental market has always been tight but over the past couple of months it has increased in demand.
“There are just not enough properties for the amount of people that are applying at the moment,” she said.
“We get a diverse range of people coming through from locals to out of towners and a whole range of nationalities.
“There are so many people screaming out for rentals on social media and you see it every day, it’s across the whole Tablelands.
“The market is just so tight at the moment.”
Alan and Rachelle moved into their new home in Walkamin after relocating from Townsville where they saw a stark difference in the market.
“You’d still look in the paper and there would be 50 to 100 properties at any given time,” Allan said.
“Whereas up here when we were searching there was a selection of six to eight at the time.”
Out of these properties there were only two that were available on the Tablelands within the time frame the family wanted.
Due to Allan being a new teacher at Jubilee Christian College in Atherton, he wanted to move before the new school year began.
“We realized we couldn’t be picky, you had to get what you were offered,” Rachelle said.
“We were surprised at the price of it, coming from Townsville we thought it would be cheaper up here but it’s not.
“If we weren’t offered this house, we didn’t know what we were doing next.”
Due to work and the need for a lifestyle change the family had decided to move up north and settled on Walkamin with the help of Ray White Mareeba.
With a young family of four kids both Allan and Rachelle strive to give their kids a quiet, small town upbringing.
“With the kids at the age that they are at we’re keen to give them a small-town country upbringing,” he said.
“We feel settled here and our daughter has had a quick adjustment to school.”
The couple’s eldest child, Maddi, has already come home after school bragging to her parents about all the friends she is making.
This rise in the regions growth and prosperity in the region was reflected at the recent Mareeba Shire Council (MSC) meeting last Wednesday February 17.
In a report tabled to Council it showed a massive spike in dwelling approvals compared to 2019.In the July to December quarter for 2019 there was 75 dwellings approved which then jumped to 118 approvals for the same quarter in 2020.
The report states that Council’s dwelling approvals are the highest they have been since MSC was formed in 2014.
MSC Mayor Angela Toppin said that the rise in building approvals is welcome news and something that Council is pleased with.
“It is wonderful news for our Shire as it indicates that this is a growing Shire and that people have confidence about moving here,” she said.
“It creates jobs and brings prosperity to our local businesses.
“Council is very proud, it is a tremendous boost for our Shire.”
