OUR BEST UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES IN 13 MONTHS

Over the past 13 months the region's unemployment rate has more than halved! This is a remarkable turnaround from 2009 when a record 13.8 percent of the Far North's workforce was unemployed.

The October unemployment figures show the number of people out of work in the Far North dropped to 6.9 percent, down 0.8 per cent on the previous month. About 3500 people found work in October, largely driven by surges in tourism numbers and a slight recovery in the construction sector.

Advance Cairns chairman Russell Beer said it was the first time he had full confidence in the official figures after watching the rate see-sawing from 12.4 per cent in January, down to 8.9 per cent in May and then back up to 10.3 per cent in July.

"7.9 per cent is great, that’s pleasing, I wasn’t expecting it below 8 per cent," Mr Beer said.

"I think we are seeing the economy picking up."

"We've (Macdonnells Law) have had a lot of business in the past three months, particularly people from out of town investing in property again." Read full article


The region's current trend unemployment rate of 9.1% is still much higher than the State's trend average of 5.4 percent, however the economic fundamentals in Cairns are continuing to gradually improve.

With the economy remaining on track for continued slow recovery over the coming months we are seeing new buyers entering the property markets and the overall industry remains confident in sustained future growth.

Peter Musso - Ray White Cairns Beaches - Property agent selling real estate in Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove, Trinity Park, Smithfield, Yorkeys Knob, Holloways Beach, Machans Beach

VICTORIAN INVESTORS ASSURED

Victorian-based investors in North Queensland property have been reassured that the residential real estate market in the Cairns region “will come back”.

Ray White Cairns Beaches Director Paul Stirling has held seminars in Melbourne this week with existing property owner clients to update them on the current state of the market.

Mr Stirling said Victorian investors were crucial to the long term future of residential property in North Queensland as they made up approximately 30 per cent of the investor market.

“Our meetings here in Melbourne with North Queensland property investors have been well received,” he said. “We have held three presentations with mostly existing investors. We provided them with facts and figures on where the market was from 1990, its growth patterns since then, where it is now on the ‘Property Clock’ and what the current economic indicators are pointing to in the near future.

“Many of these people are long term investors who have owned property in the Cairns region for between three and 10 years. They appreciated that we made a 4,000km journey to meet them face to face and bring them up to speed. Favourable comments were received regarding the content and factual nature of the seminar information – in particular the figures on vacancy factors in a rental market that is beginning to tighten from a balanced status."

“Our advice is that we feel the market has bottomed and there is growing confidence that the market will come back. “We’ve just given them the clear cut information to make a decision they’re comfortable with. If you don’t have to sell then don’t sell, unless you can use the yield for better purposes or investment elsewhere.”


Mr Stirling said he and the office’s business development manager Rachel Blok were breaking new ground by meeting with more than 60 investors during their Melbourne visit. “We held investor seminars last year in Perth and early next year we will be holding them in Sydney,” he said."

“It’s a good opportunity to provide an update on the residential market and information from a property management perspective to our long term investment property owners. But we also take the opportunity to meet potential new clients and we host a small function where owners can meet in a relaxed atmosphere.”

www.raywhitecairnsbeaches.com.au

Peter Musso - Ray White Cairns Beaches - Property agent selling real estate in Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove, Trinity Park, Smithfield, Yorkeys Knob, Holloways Beach, Machans Beach