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A leading real estate group has named towns across Australia where property prices are predicted to jump in value thanks to the ‘green mining’ boom.
Both major political parties are vowing to back a net zero by 2050 climate change target in this year’s federal election – a major difference to the 2019 poll.
Australia is perfectly placed to benefit from the worldwide transition to clean energy through its plentiful reserves of lithium, cobalt, and nickel – the key minerals needed for battery storage technology. Then there are more common metals including aluminium and silver needed to make solar panels.
As Australia relies less on coal for power generation, Ray White Real Estate listed nine towns in Western Australia, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and South Austrralia that are likely to benefit as global commodity needs change.
‘For areas rich in minerals required for green energy, it’s likely there will be much higher demand for housing and hence a resetting of pricing,’ it said in its April magazine.
Real estate giant Ray White is expecting new green mining boom towns to emerge as Australia transitions to clean energy. Both major political parties have gone to the May 21 election vowing to back a net zero by 2050 climate change target – a major difference with the 2019 poll (pictured is a fully-electric Tesla Model S recharging)
‘Unlike the other markets to watch, the impact on property is longer term and the areas that will be impacted are variable.’
Greenbushes, 250km south of Perth, was listed due to having the world’s largest lithium mine, operated by Talison Lithium.
The median house price here is still a very affordable $268,831, CoreLogic data showed.
Pilbara Minerals, Australia’s biggest lithium miner, signed a deal in 2019 with Chinese car maker Great Wall Motor to supply spodumene concentrate, a key mineral for electric vehicles.
Another WA mining town, Kalgoorlie, better known for its gold deposits, was nominated for its nickel reserves. It has a median house price of $312,515.
Leonora, also in the WA Goldfields, made the list thanks to its nearby cobalt reserves. It currently has houses for sale as low as $120,000.
Fifield in the NSW Central West is also cobalt rich with median house prices in nearby Condobolin at $200,667.
Better known metals used to make solar panels will also be needed in the future.
Portland in western Victoria, with a median house price of $421,371, is a town to watch thanks to its aluminium smelter.
Another coastal town – Bell Bay in northern Tasmania, located 50km from Launceston, was also nominated for its aluminium smelting operations.
The median house price at nearby George Town is $372,811.
As Australia relies less on coal for power generation, Ray White has named nine towns in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland that are likely to benefit as global commodity needs change. Greenbushes (pictured), 250km south of Perth, was nominated for having the world’s largest lithium mine
In northwest Queensland, two towns – McKinlay and Mount Isa – were listed due to their access to silver – an essential component of solar panels and electric vehicles.
Mount Isa had another mention for copper, along with Olympic Dam in South Australia.
Houses can still be bought for less than $300,000 in Mount Isa.
The pandemic has also caused a major shift from Sydney and Melbourne to regional areas, especially by the coast.
This raised annual prices 30 per cent in places like Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour on the NSW mid-north coast as median house prices on parts of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast climbed above $2.5 million.
But Ray White doesn’t expect the boom in regional house prices to continue.
Another WA mining town Kalgoorlie, better known for its gold deposits, was nominated for its nickel reserves. It has a median house price of $312,515 (pictured is a three-bedroom house on the market for $239,000)
Portland in western Victoria was on the list for its aluminum smelter and the median house price in this coastal town is $421,371 (pictured is a house on the market for $485,000)
‘The pandemic sparked a regional property boom, driven by a search for space, stronger demand for holiday homes, and of course changes to the way we work,’ it said.
‘As life slowly gets back to normal, demand for regional properties will settle down and price growth is unlikely to be so red hot.’
Ray White said better rail and road connections would make areas near capital cities, like the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Wollongong, and Geelong good places to invest.
‘It’s unlikely that price growth in 2022 will be the same as last year, however, with continued investment in livability, these areas will continue to be highly desirable for owner-occupiers, investors and renters,’ it said.
But unlike the nominated green mining boom towns, these coastal areas are much pricier.
Another coastal town – Bell Bay in northern Tasmania north-west of Launceston – was also nominated for its aluminum smelting operations. The median house price at nearby George Town (pictured) is $372,811
Source: DailyMail
