State of Markets – NT October 2012

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Fast figures

• 0.4%: vacancy rate, Darwin, (SQM Research)
• $28 million: central Australian roads funding boost (NT Department of Land and Planning)

New loan packages introduced
Deposit-free loan packages with no lender’s mortgage insurance are likely to appeal to NT investors under a new government initiative designed to boost the housing industry.

Those looking to purchase property cheaply will benefit from the incentives offered both in the new Homestart Extra and My New Home initiatives, which also offer further assistance with fees and lengthy loan terms.

Homestart Extra also allows a 50 per cent shared equity option.

Investors may, however, see an easing of rental pressure due to an increase in supply in response to these two incentives to purchase.

Darwin set for significant expansion
A new suburb outside Darwin is just the beginning of a series of state government programs that will see more than 5,000 homes built on the outskirts of the city.

The first of 750 new homes, in the new suburb of Zuccoli, will be built in the early months of 2013, with $12 million of power, water and road infrastructure already in place.

The government’s action is in response to Darwin’s critically low vacancy rate, which currently sits at just 0.4 per cent, according to SQM research.

Darwin had just 105 vacant properties in June 2012, compared with Hobart, which had 720 vacant properties and Melbourne, which had more than12,000.

Chief Minister Paul Henderson said construction work will now start on 61 new individual blocks within the new suburb, which will have up to 750 dwellings by 2018.