Townsville is on the verge of a boom, says property player

Tony Raggatt | Townsville Bulletin

Property player Warren Ebert sees opportunity in Townsville.

It is why his syndicated property fund, Sentinel, has been so active here, acquiring more than $50 million worth of commercial property in the past 12 months.

But times are changing and Mr Ebert can “feel it in the air”.

Mackay was roaring back to life on the back of a recovery in coal and Townsville was on the verge of a boom, he said.

“The problem you have in Townsville is that because it has been down for so long, every time someone gets up they get kicked in the guts. You’ll see the boom on for a while before people here acknowledge it,” Mr Ebert said.

Which is the way Mr Ebert likes it.

He said when there was market trouble, he ran towards it because it meant opportunity.

“Anyone who wants to buy a house, get in now, there will never be a better opportunity to make money,” he said.

“The city and region will change enormously in the next six months.”

Mr Ebert is in the city with his executives assessing the market and looking at other investments to add to the recent purchases of the River Quays and Central Plaza office buildings and a large industrial site in Bohle.

Some of their most recent acquisitions have been industrial land in Mackay.

“The take-up (of industrial property) in Mackay has been so aggressive in the past 12 months that there are almost no vacant buildings,” Mr Ebert said.

“It’s on like Donkey Kong.”

He said it would take one big project to kick off Townsville.

The caveat was uncertainty in government.

“Employers are very concerned with what’s happening with a potential change in government (on a federal level),” Mr Ebert said.