McGrath Estate Agents has continued its expansion into Tasmania’s real estate market with the opening of an office in the strategic location of Devonport, maritime entry to the state’s north coast. This is the third office for the company that follows the successful launches of McGrath Launceston and Hobart earlier this year.

McGrath CEO and Executive Director John McGrath considers Tasmania’s fundamentals of attractive lifestyle, comparative affordability, population growth, increasing wages and low unemployment levels underscore a strong property market. He holds great optimism for the Devonport property market, identifying the city as one of his Top Picks in the recently launched McGrath Report, largely due to its urban renewal plan, and its status as the northwest’s tourism gateway.

“Apart of its planned redevelopment of Port Devonport, the city offers an enviable lifestyle and multitude of outdoor activities, that I believe will be a drawcard for many families and young professionals seeking to relocate.”

McGrath Devonport Principal Vanessa Goodwin and partner Jamie Goodwin will lead a tight and committed team of five. They will focus on the Northwest of Tasmania, from Ulverstone and Penguin in the west, to Hawley Beach in the east, and extending down to Sassafras and Sheffield to the south. Their focus centres on Devonport, gateway to Tasmania; as well as Latrobe, Spreyton, Sheffield, Shearwater and Ulverstone.

Christopher Mourd, Head of Franchise Network for McGrath says, “We are genuinely delighted to welcome husband and wife team Vanessa and Jamie Goodwin to McGrath. We see a great opportunity in this partnership; they’ve established a successful business and it’s evident they have the right processes and structures in place for a rapid and sustained growth.”

He credits the team with achieving some top sales for the area. For example, $1.165 million for a 3-bedroom home on 21 Chalmers Lane; and $1.02 million for a 3-bedroom home on 3 George Street near the iconic Victoria Parade.

Mr Mourd says the Devonport team will complement the McGrath Launceston and McGrath Hobart agencies.

“Having already established a great synergy with Josh Hart of McGrath Launceston, and Garry Quan and Tania Chung of McGrath Hobart, we’re excited to see our clients benefit from McGrath’s integrated business model coupled with local expertise.”

Ms Goodwin cites The Devonport City Council’s Living City initiative – the largest urban renewal project undertaken in regional Tasmania – as a major benefit to the future of the Northwest. Commencing in 2016, it is expected to provide up to 830 on-going jobs for the region and will put a spotlight on the world-class produce of the area. An estimated $250 million in construction investment will be generated over the next 10 years.

Part of the enterprise includes a $17 million Waterfront Park project and the $49 million Novotel Hotel and Conference Centre which opened to the public on October 8th.

In addition, the Port of Devonport is being significantly upgraded. As part of a 15-year masterplan by TasPorts, the aim is to future-proof the city with increased employment across the Northwest, expanded trade and tourism and the ability to support other developing industries.

The Devonport Property Market

Ms Goodwin believes there is strong growth opportunity in Devonport’s real estate market.

“Hobart has seen significant growth however we are still a much more affordable area for ownership, especially for families,” she notes. “We have good schools in the area and the universities of Burnie, Launceston and Hobart for tertiary education.”

Devonport’s median house price is $460,000, up 21.5 per cent in the past year. It has a healthy average rental yield of 4.6 per cent * and a low vacancy rate of 0.1 per cent. Devonport’s rents have increased 15.6 per cent in the past year.**

“We’re experiencing increased investor enquiry and interest, many who are buying now with the view to move here in the future,” says Ms Goodwin. “Quite a high percentage of those are interstate buyers. Many see our Northwest region as an attractive treechange. Devonport has the beach at the front door, Cradle Mountain an hour away, world-class walking and mountain biking tracks, vineyards, distilleries and boutique breweries around us.”

Ms Goodwin says the interest rate rises have had a slight impact on lower priced properties. “We’re still seeing healthy activity with our higher value properties – the low-to high-million dollar range. They haven’t been impacted as much,” she reports.

Vanessa, Jamie and their team are excited to be joining McGrath. “We’ve raised the business to a level where we’re ready for the next step,” says Ms Goodwin. “We believe that with the McGrath’s focus on superior marketing, technology and network services, this will help us take our business to the next level. The McGrath way is what attracts us; premium six-star customer service.”

*PropTech by REA

**Smart Property Investment