193% in 10 years: Australia's No.1 growth market revealed

Research by property expert Simon Pressley shows you should have invested on Tasmania’s west coast 10 years ago. Image: Included

The spotlight is on a region that is home to some of Tasmania’s most affordable properties.

New research from Propertyology found that nowhere has seen a higher rate of capital growth over the past 10 years than the West Coast.

With population growth at just 0.5 per cent, Propertyology’s figures showed a staggering 193 per cent increase in property prices in the area.

The next best result was for homes in Playford, South Australia, at 179 per cent.

Break O’Day and George Town also made the top 15 list with growth of 161 percent and 145 percent respectively.

Simon Pressley, head of real estate research, noted Apple Isle’s strong performance.

“Tasmania was the strongest state overall, with Devonport, Burnie and Launceston all achieving capital growth of 130 per cent,” he said.

Hobart’s growth was 120 percent, the same as Adelaide. While Brisbane led the cities at 125 per cent, Sydney saw growth of 70 per cent and Melbourne just 25 per cent.

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Simon Pressley, Head of Property Research. Image: Included

West Coast resident Rodney Triffett previously spoke to the Mercury about the extraordinary real estate development in his area.

Mr Triffett cited growing tourism and the arts scene – everything from mountain bike trails to The Uncomformity festival – as drivers.

“There are many positive aspects attracting people to the area, including new mines that are creating jobs. The future looks bright; it’s great to see,” he said.

Mr Triffett says people moving to Tasmania’s west coast are typically looking for an escape from the heat and hustle and bustle of city life and are instead drawn to a region well-suited to people with a passion for the outdoors.

“Around the time the bike paths were announced and then construction began, real estate prices here increased noticeably,” he said.

No.4 Dixon St, Queenstown is priced at $398,000. Image: realestate.com.au

No.26 Batchelor St, Queenstown is on the market for $390,000. Image: realestate.com.au

The figures from the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania provide a complementary message compared to Propertyology’s research.

In 2016, homes in many West Coast centers were remarkably affordable.

The median house price was $65,000 in Queenstown, $71,250 in Rosebery, $207,000 in Strahan and $70,000 in Zeehan, according to REIT statistics.

So far this year, Queenstown is up to $220,000, Rosebery is up to $197,500, Strahan is up to $342,500 and Zeehan is up to $234,000.

Figures from REA Group show the median house price is $727,000 in Hobart, $619,000 in the South East and $613,000 in Launceston and the North East, while the West and North West is lower at $556,000.

Harcourts West Coast business owner Rodney Triffett.

Mr. Pressley said his research has shown that there is a direct relationship between the quality of each state’s economy and the local employment strength in each city and town from year to year.

“Local economic conditions have a major impact on the confidence of critical mass households in each jurisdiction,” he said.

“For much of the last decade, household confidence – and therefore buyer activity – has been stronger in Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland and regional NSW than in Sydney, Melbourne, Alice Springs, Canberra, Darwin and Mount Isa.

“In every city across Australia, single-family homes have typically achieved significantly higher capital growth rates than apartments.

“Regardless of how affordable they may be, very few owner-occupiers will use their hard-earned money to purchase a property that does not have adequate living space, storage space and connection to natural lifestyle elements such as yards and green spaces in the neighborhood.

“Across Australia, the jurisdictions with the highest population densities have embarrassingly low home ownership rates and well below average capital growth rates.”