So, the 2018 Budget is out. Whether you’re a fan of it or not, what we need to discuss is the $75 billion investment in transport infrastructure over the next 10 years and the impact that this will have on property prizes in the areas affected.
So what areas will see more funding? And how will this affect the economy in these areas? We’ve listed the key projects you’ll need to keep in mind if you live in Brisbane, the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast.
Let’s start with the easy part of this breakdown. Of the $75 billion the government has promised to infrastructure improvements, $24.5 billion of that is dedicated to major transport projects in every state and territory of Australia. This will be paid for with a combination of grant funding, loans and equity investments, although that’s not our major focus here.
Firstly, we’ve got the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative. Whilst it might sound a little kooky (and mildly like it’s been pulled from a comic book), this initiative will receive $3.5 billion. $1.5 billion of this has been put into a Northern Australia Package for Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. This money will be used for the upgrading of existing roadways. This is important because it will help improve the access between different locations, including essential services (ie. hospitals), markets and employment opportunities. For buyers and investors, particularly those who are in the apartment market, this will be a great addition to the areas they are looking at buying/investing in. This is due to the fact that property values are highly likely to rise as roads surrounding their developments improve, which changes how tenants can access key facilities and locations.
“There will … be a $3.5 billion Roads of Strategic Importance initiative upgrading key freight routes. This initiative will boost our regional economies,” The Treasurer said on Tuesday evening.
Cities will also see a boost through the $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund to reduce the level of urban congestion in some of Australia’s bigger cities. This will work well with the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative. Together, they will hopefully ease the build-up of traffic between the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and Brisbane. This will be a major benefit to anyone who wants to live at one of the coasts but has to work in Brisbane. By reducing travel times, this will become a viable – and easier – option, which will result in more buyers and investors flocking to the coastal development sites and
In Queensland, there has been $5.2 billion allocated for new major projects. This includes an additional $3.3 billion for the continuing upgrade of the Bruce Highway, and another $1 billion of the M1 Pacific Motorway. This ties into what we mentioned before: with improved roads in and out of Brisbane, the possibility of living on one of the Coasts and working in the city would become ever easier.
Bruce Highway
Other than that, there’s $390 million being given to the Beerburrum to Nambour Rail Upgrade, and $300 million to the Brisbane Metro project. This will make Brisbane easier to navigate, and it’s likely that developments that are near to these improvements will benefit.
Finally, we’ve got the $170 million being given to the Cunningham Highway (Yamanto to Ebenezer [Amberley Interchange]). All these projects, together, will make Brisbane the Sunshine Coast, and the Gold Coast significantly more accessible.
It comes back to the fact that the improvements in the infrastructure in Queensland will improve the lives of residents. What direct impact it will have on property prices is always difficult to estimate. Certainly the improvement to the Bruce Highway to decrease travel times from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane should definitely have a positive impact on property prices in Brisbane’s northern suburbs and the southern suburbs of the Sunshine Coast.
The Beerburrum to Nambour Rail upgrade should also stoke interest in these areas as rail is a proven rent and price increaser.
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