6 October, 2011

Government jobs expected to boost Batemans Bay property market

Competition for residential property in Bateman’s Bay is set to heat up in early 2012, in anticipation of the opening of the new Centrelink office next April, which is expected to create 180 jobs.

The new three-story office block, estimated to cost $13 million, will be leased by Centrelink as a call centre, and is located in a prominent position on Flora Crescent, behind the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club – the owner of the premises.

According to Adam Porteous, Principal of Raine & Horne Batemans Bay, the Flora Crescent development, which meets stringent five-star energy and water efficiency standards, is a major plus for the town and will generate competition for local homes.

“Having a new commonwealth government office in Batemans Bay is a real boon for the area, and an indication of the Eurobodalla Shire’s growing diversity,” Mr Porteous said.

“I would expect that with 180 employees and their families potentially relocating to Batemans Bay by the time the new office is completed in April 2012, we will see real competition in the local residential property market.”

As a consequence, Mr Porteous expects some pressure on prices.

“Currently, three bedroom, brick veneer family homes are available from an affordable $350,000,” Mr Porteous said.

In addition to the owner-occupier market, Mr Porteous confirmed that Batemans Bay’s holiday home market was also robust, with older-style homes, which sell for around $280,000, popular with buyers from Sydney and Canberra.

Apart from the buyer market, Mr Porteous confirmed that Batemans Bay continued to be a popular holiday destination for visitors from Sydney and Canberra.

“We enjoyed a strong October long weekend, with holidaymakers travelling down to Batemans Bay from Canberra, while Christmas holiday bookings are already up 12% compared with the same time last year,” he added.

“This demonstrates that our region is a great place for a holiday, but as Batemans Bay grows, it also shows the town is a great place to live and work.”

In other news, Raine & Horne Batemans Bay was named Raine & Horne’s leading Coastal Office at the real estate group’s national awards held recently in Noosa.

Raine & Horne CEO Angus Raine said this was a tremendous achievement for Adam and the team at Raine & Horne Batemans Bay, as the network had  strong offices up and down the east and west coasts of Australia.

“This result also shows that our offices on the south coast of NSW are part of a high performing network of agents, working consistently hard to ensure maximum returns for vendors and buyers across all property classes," Mr Raine said.

For all your property needs, contact Raine & Horne Batemans Bay on (02) 4472 6055.

Raine & Horne is an iconic Australian property company, with more than 400 offices worldwide. Also an established Superbrand along with the likes of Qantas, Vegemite, Woolworths and Myer, the company has four distinct property service brands including Raine & Horne Residential, Raine & Horne Commercial, Raine & Horne Financial Services and Raine & Horne Rural.

-ENDS-

For further media information contact:

Adam Porteous, Principal Raine & Horne Batemans Bay on (02) 4472 6055 or 0414 726 014

Anna Truman, Marketing & Communications Co-ordinator on 02 9258 544