PHOTO: The Nyrstar NV’s Port Pirie lead smelter is seen from a playground.
Mining towns account for nine out of the 10 Australian suburbs recording the strongest median property price growth, as the recovery in the property market takes hold.
A suburb of a city that’s home to one of the world’s largest lead smelters and another in a once-struggling steel city are among those experiencing a pricing surge, as record-low interest rates and an easing of bank-lending rules support demand.
“Rental growth in many of these places has been strong for quite a while now. It is now flowing through to pricing, likely driven by greater investor demand,” REA Group Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee said.
Risdon Park South, a suburb of Port Pirie, the South Australian location of Nyrstar NV’s smelter, registered 71% median price growth year on year in the 12 months to August 2019, according to the latest data from Hometrack Australia.
A 42% jump in price was registered in steel town Whyalla Norrie, where the median house price was A$138,000 ($94,500), and in the coal mining town of Blackwater, Queensland, prices surged 41% during the period, with 51 properties changing hands. Other mining centers in the top 10 include Newman, Quarry Hill and Dysart.
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