Why to Invest in the Nations Capital
Canberra may be known for its political landscape but in recent years, the nation’s capital has made a name for itself as one of the strongest places to invest in commercial property. The statistics speak for themselves, with the Canberra region showing a tightening of yields across the commercial property sector. From multi-million dollar developments to strong population forecasts, the Canberra region is booming and only set to grow further, making now the best time to discover what makes the ACT one of the best regions for commercial property.
Expectations for the Canberra region are extremely optimistic and resilient, with growth in the capital the fastest in Australia and stated by the ACTs Chief Minister to grow to approximately half a million within the next two years. To follow this upward trend in population, increasing demand is captivating the national stage for investment with new projects in the pipeline in residential developments, medical, schooling and office as well as state of the art amenities and services. With Canberras’ population topping 420,000 people, the city offers it all, with a three-hour commute to Sydney, two and a half hours to snow fields and a cruisy two–hour drive to the coast. Furthermore, Canberra is a central hub for southern NSW, servicing the snowy mountains, south coast and some of the regional areas towards Cowra, Wagga and Orange for medical, retail and transportation. Its mix of location, demographics and culture make for an impressive investment region.
Compelling driving factors, like population growth, low unemployment (sitting at 3.3%) and the highest national average wages in the community, are not only persuading investors to inject wealth into Canberra, but also influencing unique and top tier developments. Burgess Rawson (ACT) work alongside Australias best developers to not only sell, lease and manage their properties, but also act on advisory for location, tenancy mixes and site analysis to maximise precinct potential. Teamed with Burgess Rawson, the developer K-Group have conceived REMEDI in Belconnen in the North East of the ACT, which is set to service a high demand region of approximately 100,000+ residents, which will be Australias’ first one stop shop, 24–hour medical district. The development itself will range from gym facilities, doctor suites, pharmacy to support its primary demographic of students, families and ageing residents.
There’s a major new star on the Canberra urban scene, one that promises to outshine all other precincts. Positioned in Canberra’s cultural hub of the inner north and featuring an exciting blend of architecturally designed apartments, state of the art offices, retail, restaurants and amenity, the DKSN precinct takes inner city living in Canberra to a whole new level. Burgess Rawson Canberra are the exclusive agents selling and leasing the Commercial and Retail spaces.
Despite a general national downwards trend, Adina Cirson, ACT Executive Director of the Property Council, stated that “There is an extremely optimistic outlook for the Canberra property market backed up by recent CoreLogic / ABS data [which] shows us weathering the property market storm present in other capital cities, with residential construction (up 17%), lending (value $5 billon over 12 months) and auction clearance rates (up to as high as 80% mid last month). Unlike other cities, Canberra is not reliant on transient resources such as mining and tourism, but conversely relies on government which provides economic stability.
With the major benefits of purchasing property in the ACT including no stamp duty on purchases less than $1.5 million and a flat fee for 5% for property purchases over $1.5 + million, as well as no land tax applicable for commercial properties. Purchasing residential property is further incentivised with no land tax applicable on a purchase if the purchaser moves into the property within three months after settlement.
