Regional town resurgence following mining boom

During the mining town’s peak in 2014 houses the median house price in Karratha eclipsed that of Australia’s largest city, Sydney with dwellings selling for more than $800,000. 

Three years later with falling commodity prices the cost of a house fell to $270,000. 

A raft of new Pilbara resources projects is expected to come online soon, with Woodside, FMG and BHP looking to create more than 35,000 new jobs that could spur the Karratha property market. 

Given the rapid rise and fall of Western Australian property market during the 2000s, the state government says it’s working to ensure the area does not face similar issues to the outrageous house and rental prices.

“The state government recently announced a significant housing investment package and made changes to the financial assistance it provides first home buyers,” the Domain report found.

“Not only will this boost the construction sector, it will create jobs and stimulate the broader economy, as well as assisting more residents to become home owners. With population growth steadily improving so should the demand for housing.”

The mayor of Karratha Peter Long previously announced the city has partnered with builders and developers to invest up to $35 million in ratepayers’ funds to boost the local housing stock pre-another boom.

Mr Long noted rents are already rising as availability of housing stock falls and little appetite for banks to lend money to the area. 

Karratha just recorded a rental increase of $128 a week to $620, the largest rental growth in Western Australia’s regional centres.