An investment property adviser has recommended potential homeowners looking to make money buy a home near Bunnings – with immigration at record levels.
James Anderson, founder and director of Melbourne-based Bluestone Property Corporation, argued the Wesfarmers-owned hardware giant only opened large warehouses if it was certain there would be a population increase.
“Believe it or not, Bunnings is a very nifty indicator for deciding which region you want to invest in,” he told his followers on TikTok.
“So if Bunnings opens in an area, there will definitely be a good chance that the population will increase a lot in that area, which means property prices should follow suit.”
Mr Anderson said Bunnings would carry out its demographic and economic analysis before a business case was made to open a new store, based on the theory that new owners would buy a lot of paint to renovate or maintain a property.
An investment property advisor has recommended potential homeowners looking to make money buy a home near Bunnings (Perth hardware store, pictured) with immigration at record levels.
“Bunnings has a very strong in-house real estate team who will do a huge amount of research before opening a store in any region,” he said.
With over 300 stores in Australia, it is by far the largest hardware chain in the country.
But this theory has some limitations, with Bunnings having 52 stores in greater Melbourne, compared to 48 in greater Sydney.
The two major cities, each with more than five million people, are home to a larger proportion of the more than 400,000 migrants who settle in Australia each year.
The record annual number of arrivals this financial year is expected to exceed Treasury’s forecast of 315,000 new arrivals for 2023-24, made in the May Budget.
Rapid population growth has, however, benefited Sydney more than Melbourne, at least in terms of property values, according to CoreLogic data from October.
Sydney’s median house price has jumped 12.1 per cent since January to $1.397 million, compared to a more moderate 4.1 per cent increase in Melbourne, taking the median house price to $937 $736.
Brisbane, a beneficiary of interstate migration, has seen its median house price rise 10.3 per cent since the start of January to $860,465, in a city with 23 Bunnings outlets.
Perth’s median house price has climbed 11.1 per cent this year to $660,069. Bunnings has 26 stores there.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s 12 interest rate hikes since May 2022 have taken the cash rate to an 11-year high of 4.1 percent and resulted in monthly mortgage repayments increasing by more than 63 percent.
James Anderson, founder and director of Melbourne-based Bluestone Property Corporation, argued the Wesfarmers-owned hardware giant only opened large warehouses if it was certain there would be a large population increase.
But landlords were not deterred by the value of investor loans which rose by 2.6 per cent in the year ending September, while funding for new owner-occupier loans fell by 8 .4 percent.
Australia’s big four banks all expect the RBA to raise rates again on Tuesday by a quarter of a percentage point, taking the cash rate to 4.35 per cent, its highest level in 12 years.
The inflation rate of 5.4 percent for September was still well above the Reserve Bank’s target of 2 to 3 percent.
