SOUTHERN investors seeking greater yields up north and an active owner occupier segment has prompted Raine & Horne Commercial to launch a new office in Townsville.
The Raine & Horne Commercial Townsville team will be led by Steve Leaumont, who since 2017 has been the principal of Raine & Horne Townsville, and will include prominent local commercial property specialist Peter McCann, who has also spent 21 years as a high-profile car dealer.
Leaumont says as many as 30%, and maybe more of his residential database, either own a business or are employed by a small business.
“There’s a massive opportunity to market commercial properties to clients in our database who have bought or sold homes with us.
Raine & Horne Commercial’s Queensland network includes offices in Brisbane’s north and south, as well as Mackay.
Leaumont said he is extremely bullish about the prospects for commercial real estate in Townsville.
“It was very much at the bottom of the cycle for a long time. But activity has climbed rapidly over the last 18 months. This demand is driven by southern investors from south east Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
“Out of area investors are discovering you can buy an affordable commercial property in north Queensland with a yield of 9% whether it’s a tenanted retail, industrial or office asset.
“You can buy a lot more here for $1 million than what you can buy in Sydney or Brisbane, and this is the appeal of Townsville’s commercial real estate.
He noted stock is getting tighter, putting pressure on yields.
“Apart from southern investors, business owners such as GPs and other medical professionals are shifting to Townsville for lifestyle reasons and are snapping up vacant commercial properties,” Leaumont said.
“There are also a lot of local owner-occupiers as well buying commercial property. These businesses usually pay rent and are now buying available industrial properties.”
