Maclay Island - Qld

[arriety]

Macleay Island - Qld

I've been asked for advice by first home owner couple if a house on Maclay Island would be a good option for their first house? They don't seem to mind that they would have to use the ferry every day and it seems to depart every 30 mins.

I had a quick look and it seems you can purchase 5 year old houses for less than $250K. It seems very very cheap. Why has this island not gone up in price the same way as Coochiemudlo? I know people on Coochie and their property wasn't as cheap as Macleay.
However, there do seem to be alot of properties on the Macleay for sale!

From my observations if they don't mind the distance, a house there should do ok as a long term investment. It surely will eventually rise in price if my friends don't mind waiting but as I'm not from Brisbane, I dont' like to recommend it. Can anyone comment on the island?

 

[ianvestor]

I bought a block there in 2004. At that time there were hundreds of similar blocks for sale.

Now it's 2010 and I've since sold it for pretty much the same price. And there are still hundreds of similar blocks for sale.

Not much has changed in the 6 years that I've known it so it's hard to say when things there would ever change.

 

[Propertunity]

Run up a free suburb profile from RP Data at:http://www.myrp.com.au/showProductDetail.do?reportTypeId=1&propertyId=

BTW it is spelled "Macleay" for when you are entering it into the drop down list box.

You'll see that:
1. In 2006 the population was about 2,000
2. The predominant age group in Macleay Island is 60 - 69 years.
3. Households in Macleay Island are primarily couples without children and are likely to be repaying between $200.00 - $400.00 per month on mortgage repayments.
4. The overwhelming majority of people who live there earn less than $40K pa
5. Single parents account for 1/3 of the total households

None of these factors point to anything that might lead to CG in the near future

It sounds like more of a lifestyle choice for low income earners, pensioners and single parents.

 

[csc2]

easy to buy hard to offload...not an area i would consider.

its cheap for a reason...you really need to be retired to live there in my opinion or at worst work there...bugger the travelling each day to get to work on the mainland...

try before you buy is the best advice i can offer..

 

[arriety]

thanks guys for the advice. I also would steer clear of the island myself. However one argument this young couple have given me is that it is better than living in other cheap areas such as Logan. Personally I would rather buy in Logan as an investment. Howover I guess the island life might be preferable for bringing up children, although I agree the commuting would be a pain.

I am loathe to give advice these days especially for areas where I am not familiar. I live in Adelaide and have investments in Brisbane in Sunnybank and Ferny hills - so I have got to know some areas. 3 years ago another young couple asked me about buying a unit in Beenleigh for $205k. I thought it was a bit expensive considering the distance but they really wanted it and I thought they could not lose. However it has not increased in price to date.

Thanks for the spelling tip re Macleay - and I am going to rpdata right now to check out the data - that way I can give the couple all the info and let them make the decision without any influence from me.

 

[Indifference]

Macleay Is is bit better now than a few years back, when crime was supposedly pretty bad. In 2008 a single man police station was established on the island.

I know a couple of ppl living on the island, and the average demographic is squarely in the lower socio-economic band. I have looked at the islands periodically over the past few years, did a scoping visit a few years back to Macleay and Russell Islands, but was personally put off by the crime rates and general social 'feel' at that time.

I think the area has improved since my last visit, but only marginally. Law & Order has been re-established, but that's about it, IMHO. For someone who loves fishing, boating, isolation from the masses etc.. it is probably just the ticket, but it is a somewhat alternate lifestyle choice to the mainstream.

This is all my personal opinion, and I am sure the people who live their, do so because they love the lifestyle. I wouldn't invest there personally, but I can appreciate the lifestyle attraction.

 

[mrsdawnrazor]

I have an investment property on the island and we haev seen capital growth, but I woudl agree with the easy to buy, hard to sell.
There was a lot of publicity about 2 years ago showing it as one of the cheapest places to buy and that pushed prices up a fair but, but these have now stabilised. You can buy well there but you need to take your time and make sure you are not buyign because its cheap.

Community wise, the futher up the Island you go the better. The south end is a bit ferral. They are looking at improving the ferries but dont hold your breath for the fabled bridge! Socio, econiomically, MUCH better than Russell Island but still a large proportion of Centerlink clients.

I actually really like the island and have friends that live there but it is an aquired taste. If you get a good tenant they tend to be long term. Our tenant is the island's handy man, so no maintenance issues and everythign paid in cash. He has been there 3 years now and before that we had the island's dog sitter. The island has a primary school and the facilities have improved no end. Woolworths even do on line shopping! which the locals hate because it takes away from the local shops, but it does show that you are not compeltely isolated.

This is a cash flow property for us, not a CG and I would class it as high risk as not off loadable quickly but it was our first go and being 'affordable' allowed us to see what this propoerty investing lark was all about.

 

[arriety]

Thank you Mrsdawnrazor, I can see how the property would be cash flow + with a good tenant but you may have to wait for CG. I don't think my friends will mind being that isolated. Anyway you can't tell people anything once they've set their hearts on something. Is the ferry at least reliable. What happens in tropical storms? I read about King Tides off the island.

 

[mrsdawnrazor]

They wont sell you land that goes under water at high tide any more Remember the islands are well inside Moreton BAy and sheltered by Straddie so no huge flooding issues
A really good source of information is the bay island times. It is on line and lets you know what is happening wiht the island
bayislandtimes.com.au

The ferries are reliable but I think they are looking at putting a new service on. There are also water taxis in case of emergency. LAst time I went if cost about $80 to take the car over (we had a dishwasher in the back) but as rate payers we get a discount too