Biloela the answer to rent crisis

A Biloela real estate agent believes his town could be a crucial ingredient to ease Gladstone’s rental crisis.

Ross Munroe, from First National Real Estate Biloela, believes the town and its surrounds has rental opportunities that could be ideal for workers on Gladstone’s big resources projects.

“There’s a lot of land available here and we have quite a few homes being built,” he said.

“The availability will very certainly be there and demand may have to be alter filled by people from out of town.

“What I am trying to say is, Hey guys, get us on your shopping list’.

“We are hearing all these stories about (the housing crisis in) Gladstone and everyone is saying they can’t find what they are looking for.”

Mr Munroe said Biloela was a good alternative.

“A lot of money has been spent upgrading the Dawson Hwy (from Biloela to Gladstone).”

Mr Munroe said other locations within similar distances from Gladstone were already being used as housing areas for Gladstone’s workers, but Biloela could be an even better option.

“The cost to rent property here would be very reasonable and may be a better alternative, even with the cost of travel,” he said.

He said typical rental prices for a mid-range three-bedroom home were $300-$400 a week. A – four-bedroom brick home is typically $400- $500.

Those figures contrast sharply with Gladstone, where many callers have told The Observer their rents have risen by up to $100 a week in the past six months.

“We currently manage about 400 homes, so we’ve always got some turnover,” Mr Munroe said. “It doesn’t matter if they rent through (First National Real Estate) or another agent, as long as they know that the options are here in Biloela.”

Source: Gladstone Observer, 08 August 2011

First National Real Estate Biloela