The doomsayers have been out in force of late decrying the Darwin property market, but there’s no reason to worry as the local economy is the best it’s ever looked. There was a misleading headline in the local media at the end of last year that led readers to think that the Inpex’s Ichthys LNG project was closing down. This ultimately proved incorrect, however I can trace the downturn in the local property market back to this headline.

At the time, the Ichthys project was transitioning from a development phase to a construction stage which changed the profile of the workers required. It simply meant some workers left Darwin, however they have been replaced by new workers. There are more workers on the ground in Darwin supporting the Inpex project than at any other stage.

The headline was unfortunate as the Darwin market is very small and the local owner and investor grapevine moves very fast. The facts are that interest rates are on our side and no major project that has been in the pipeline over the last five to ten years has been cancelled.

Likewise Darwin still has close enough to full employment and high average wages, while the tourism industry continues to produce robust numbers. The lower Australian dollar will also increase the appeal of Darwin to overseas buyers and tourists, while we have steady population growth, highlighted by the recent addition of about 2,500 US Marines.

The trouble is that in a small market like Darwin, any business or economic scaremongering can hit real estate market confidence hard but it will bounce back. The savvy buyers and investors are ignoring the noise and cherry picking quality, well-located properties available for sale, especially in the city’s northern suburbs.

Late last week we secured a buyer in under 21 days for a well-presented three bedroom house at 4 Kabbarli Court, Karama for $565,000. On the flipside, the supply spike means that owners must recognise there is significant competition for their property and for this reason they must price their properties prudently to secure buyers. Buyers can afford to be picky as they have lots of choice. Last year we averaged 10 groups to every open home, and now it’s more like 2. As a result, I wouldn’t be selling a property in Darwin now if I could afford to hold onto it.

The good news is that better times are just around the corner for Darwin real estate and stronger prices will flow accordingly.