Why it makes sense to consider investing in this rural NSW town.
With a median property value of $349,000 and rental yields superior to those offered by capital cities, it's worth considering Wagga Wagga as a viable option to add to a property portfolio.
With a population of 62,000, Wagga Wagga is New South Wale’s largest inland city and Australia’s twenty-ninth biggest city. It has essential health infrastructure, tertiary education offerings through Charles Sturt University, and a quality commerce and retail hub. Wagga Wagga services a broader Riverina regional population of 200,000 people.
Located along Australia’s national (Hume) highway, transport and warehousing are important industries, with Toll Holdings is a major employer. Heinz, Teys and Robe are other heavy industry big employers while the Kapooka army recruitment base and the Forest Hill RAAF logistics and training base are staples to the economy. The Murray Darling Basin supports the agriculture industry. International conglomerate, Cargill, is a major employer.
Parts of Wagga Wagga do suffer localised flooding, mostly in pockets to the north, the historical part of the city, but the suburbs to the south of the city are newer and on higher land.
7.1 percent average annual price growth over the fifteen years to December 2014 compares favourably against Greater-Sydney’s price growth of 6.3 percent over the same period. As at April 2015, Wagga Wagga is a distinct buyer’s market with properties taking 130 days to sell, although there is 11 percent less stock to choose from. Vacancy rates were hovering around 3 percent.
Government subsidies have been required to prop up parts of the local manufacturing sector, similarly to Australia’s car manufacturing industry. For this reason, Propertyology holds some reservations over long-term employment fundamentals.
This article was written by Simon Pressley, Managing Director of Propertyology, a REIA Hall Of fame Inductee, property market analyst, accredited property investment adviser, and Buyer’s Agent. Propertyology works exclusively with property investors to purchase properties in strategically chosen locations all over Australia.