Why Invest in Darwin

Darwin is the ‘gateway’ to South East Asia and a little known property investment ‘hot spot’.

Situated 12 degrees below the equator, Darwin is as close to Singapore and Manila as it is to Sydney and Melbourne. It’s also strategically placed as Australia’s closest capital city to Asia. Darwin is one of Australia’s most modern cities. It has been re-built twice. The first time was when the Japanese bombed Darwin in February 1942. The next re-building of Darwin was when Cyclone Tracey flattened Darwin in December 1974.

Today, Darwin is a vibrant cosmopolitan city and home to people from all cultures who enjoy the wonderful Darwin life-style with its world-class restaurants, taverns and disco’s in the CBD, Cullen Bay, Waterfront precinct and MGM Grand Casino.

The Australian federal government’s ‘Asian Century White Paper’ singles out Darwin as being the key service centre for industries headed by mining, offshore oil and gas production, pastoralism, tourism and horticulture.

The $34 billion Inpex gas project has put Darwin on an irrevocable course for growth. The development of the Marine Supply Base adjacent to East Arm Wharf secures Darwin’s future as a major oil and gas supply and service centre. The offshore gas industry will be the driver of the Northern Territory’s economy over the next 40 years.

NT Excerpt - May 2015 - Your Investment Property Mag reports REINT chief executive officer Quentin Kilian says that ....“Darwin is still a robust market. Even though it goes through some peaks and troughs, being a smaller market it is more affected by movements in that marketplace,” he says. “When you look at statistics they look like they’ve moved dramatically, but you’ve got to remember that it’s a very small community; it’s a very small investor market ... it looks more dramatic than it really is.” Kilian says vendors simply need to alter their price structure to suit the current climate.

Inner-city oversupply?
While rental yields remain around a healthy 5%, vacancies have been on the rise in Darwin. CoreLogic senior researcher Cameron Kusher says rental rates are showing very little in the way of appreciation. “Capital city rental growth is now occurring at its slowest pace in more than a decade... Darwin rents are -2.1% lower.” This decrease is largely due to overdevelopment in the inner city. Kilian says a number of developments finished at a similar time, which in turn flooded the rental market.

Sales were spectacular. But the great majority of those were investors, so they’ve come back to the marketplace in the form of rentals. That’s put a lot of pressure on the rental market, so that’s pushed the rental prices down. We are seeing a pick-up in the rental market over the past month. However, we do put a lot of that down to internal churn. So people who have been renting older properties at higher prices are now looking at the market and thinking, ‘I can move to a newer property’. Kilian predicts there will be no significant increase over the next year, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. It opens up the market to more buyers. It makes it more attractive for renters to stay in that market, because it has a bit more affordability.

Additionally, the combined number of international and domestic visitors to the NT increased by 13% to 1.34 million visitors for the 12 months to September...."

The Australian Defence Force's ever-expanding presence in the North has further boosted the Territory's economy. The arrival of a permanent US marine contingent further adds to this growth. The Territory Government is working with industry to capitalise on the ongoing business and employment opportunities for supply and support services.

"Territory workforce participation rates, average weekly earnings and household incomes are consistently among the highest in Australia. This on some measures makes the Territory one of the more attractive housing markets in Australia. Gross yields on rental properties and a relatively high percentage of households that rent, rather than own, also make the Territory attractive to property investors.

Living in Darwin for people employed in the resource sector has many benefits:

- Home each night instead of living at camp

- Some of the best fishing, camping and other outdoor activities in Australia

- Convention Centre, Casino and major sporting attractions such as Supercars and Darwin Cup

- International Airport with cheap fares to Bali and other South East Asian Centres

- Child care centres, schools and a University

- Hospitals and Medical Services

- Shopping Centres

- Excellent opportunities for workers in non-resource related jobs, eg retail, hospitality and administration.

With interest rates at an all-time low, NOW is the best time to invest in the Darwin property market.

Why choose Northern Star Homes?

If you’re an Australian expatriate living overseas or an overseas investor looking to expand their property portfolio to a ‘safe haven’, we can help you through the entire process from start to finish. We can also assist you with property management, so your investment is looked after professionally giving you the all-important peace of mind.

Whether you live locally and are investing the equity from your existing home, or are an interstate or overseas investor, we offer a wide range of investor packages specifically designed to give the highest possible return for your investment dollar. Our house and land packages start from AUD $550,000 complete with fencing, landscaping and window furnishings.

We think our client deserves the last word!!

"Northern Star Homes (NSH) offers a client focused service that is both personal and committed to delivering a quality product. Having built multiple properties with NSH and with builders interstate I have found NSH's service to be unsurpassed.

Their processes are client friendly and perfect for anybody seeking to embark on a new build - whether for the first time or otherwise. As an investor their professionalism, efficiency, expediency, finishes and pricing are traits difficult to come by in this day and age, equating to what I can only sum up as being complete RELIABILITY at all levels.

I have hence never had any hesitation in returning to NSH as a repeat customer nor can I recommend highly enough to any individual, family or investor: Choose Northern Star Homes as your builder. You won't be disappointed!"

Jolanda Bakker