BILLIONS of dollars worth of military works and strong, stable employment are why Katherine’s real estate market is starting to rival Darwin’s.
In the past 12 months, Elders Katherine principal Alison Ross said the town had experienced a boom across its rental and sales markets, with newcomers fighting over rental properties and businesses being forced to buy homes to house their staff.
One of the catalysts of this shift is major upgrades to RAAF Base Tindal, about 10 minutes outside of Katherine.
In February last year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled a $1.1bn spending boost for upgrades at RAAF Base Tindal — bringing the total value up to $1.6bn worth of work, which will create more than 300 construction jobs.
The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
“Defence has definitely had an impact on residential markets in Katherine for both residential sales and rentals,” Ms Ross said.
“25 to 30 per cent of rental inquiries have been connected with Defence consistently for the last eight months.
“Contractors that have been awarded to that work out there are coming, and then we’re also seeing residents buy because of the shortage of rental houses.”
Ms Ross said standard three-bedroom, one-bathroom homes were leasing for about $500 per week, with larger homes in the $700 to $800 a week range.
She added the Northern Territory’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, combined with Katherine’s isolated location, also prompted attention.
“Throughout COVID a lot of Katherine residents realised that employment was still strong in Katherine,” Ms Ross said.
“We’re relatively isolated therefore safe from COVID, let’s start an investment portfolio or let’s buy our first home here.”
Ms Ross said there was a strong demand for all types of housing, with a semirural property at 1255 Gorge Road selling for $1.1m.
“That was purchased by people moving to Katherine for work so they’ve obviously got confidence in the market if they’ve spent that range,” she said.
Ms Ross said Katherine had also benefited from recent population growths experienced by Darwin.
“We have actually seen a lot of residents from Darwin move to Katherine for work,” she said.
“Katherine’s a relatively safe investment because you have a population that moves here for work.
“Employment is strong in Katherine and therefore there’s always a demand for housing from both government employees and other organisations.
“Katherine’s location is central to all of your communities. The provision of health and community services is generally based in Katherine.
“Police, education, Defence and health are the main demands for housing.
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