The continued strength of the Cairns property market has been underpinned by a number of recent big ticket sales in the prestige apartment market. The city is following the nationwide appetite for prestige property, according to new research.
Richard Katter, research economist for Honeycombes Property Group, said the Cairns property market continues to show underlying strength, despite other areas of Australia experiencing a downturn.
Mr Katter said recent penthouse and prestige apartment sales in waterfront projects, sustained growth in building approvals, and a continued buoyant tourism economy in Cairns are combining to maintain the strength of the property market.
"Recent record sales for penthouses have demonstrated that buyers are still willing to pay big prices for blue chip locations," said Mr Katter.
"As with other waterfront locations along the Australian eastern seaboard, Cairns has also experienced record prices for high quality apartment projects," he said.
Mr Katter said the sale of six penthouses for a combined $13.5 million in the $160 million Harbour Lights development reinforced the strength of the prestige sector.
"The sale of six apartments at an average price of $2.25 million is certainly unprecedented in Cairns," Mr Katter said.
The sale of the Harbour Lights penthouses follows recent sales in another Cairns waterfront project, Thakral's Trilogy apartments on The Esplanade.
All penthouses are reportedly sold unconditional at average prices of $2.36 million.
Mr Katter pointed to the high proportion of local buyers as another strong indicator of the confidence in the Cairns marketplace.
More than 65% of the residential purchasers in Harbour Lights are locals, who have purchased apartments at an average price of $1.131 million.
Recent research from independent property advisers Herron Todd White shows that that the tourism sector is extremely buoyant, and as a result occupancy rates have built to a nine year high again.
The buoyant tourism sector, which is expected to continue, is contributing to a tightening in the vacancy rate for houses because of rental demand, dipping to 2.2%.
