On the northeastern side of Australia sits the second-largest state, named after Queen Victoria (who, keen observers will note, has another state, Victoria, also named after her). This is the third most populous state in the country, after NSW and Victoria. Queensland is also the state under which Brisbane, its capital, belongs. Often referred to as the sunshine state because of the warm climate, Queensland has most of the population in the state residing near the coastline, and to the east of the state already lies the Pacific Ocean.
Geography and Climate
The state capital of Brisbane is also part of the coastal community of most of the state, and is about one hundred km away from the border of New South Wales when traveling by motorway and NSW is also directly south of the state. Queensland also has the largest city in terms of land area anywhere, Mount Isa, taking up over forty thousand square km of land area.
A lot of natural wonders are located within Queensland, including the beaches in the state like the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast being the most well-known of the beaches there. Off the coast one would find a world heritage site, the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living coral reef in the world. The area occupied by this reef stretches to almost three hundred fifty thousand square kilometers, and can even be seen right from outer space. This is one large area when you think about it, and as a single structure made by living organisms, it’s the largest as well. There are four other world heritage sites located in Queensland, including fossil sites left behind by mammals, located in the Gulf Country. The Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves and Queensland’s Wet Tropics area are also located well within the state.
The climate pattern in a large portion of the state is of the tropical variety, and most of the tropical portion of the state is capable of growing bananas, the staple agricultural product of the state and an icon in itself. Inland however, it’s a different story with a much drier environment that is a typical condition of the western portion of Queensland. The nicest weather can be found on the coastal areas, which provide for fairly consistent temperature levels throughout the whole coastal zone. In all, there are basically two types of weather pattern in Queensland, summer and winter, the former having lots of rainfall and humid days, and the latter having minimal rainfall and higher average temperatures. The lowest average temperatures are experienced in Brisbane at fourteen degrees Celsius, and Longreach having the highest temperatures recorded here at thirty-one degrees.
Queensland Economy
Tourism has a significant impact on the economy of Queensland. It’s because of the high volume of traffic in the state for domestic visitors, second only to New South Wales in volume, and the travelers contribute a significant amount to the economy, to the tune of eleven billion dollars annually in the overnight visitor market. That’s not the end of the picture as there is also a market of two and a half billion dollars coming from day visitors to the area.
The economy in Queensland is also the highest in Australia, with growth within ten years covering 1992 up until 2002 well above those of other states. Five percent growth was shown by the state of Queensland compared to less than four percent for the rest of the country. Aside from tourism, one significant industry in the state is mining, which is another backbone industry and is a large contributor to the fueled growth of the state, making it the fastest growing within the forecasted future periods. Other strong industries include agriculture, as well as livestock and dairy products being significant export contributors to the GDP.
Investing In Queensland Properties
One of the best things about living in Queensland is the low cost of living exhibited by the state, especially in the state capital of Brisbane, which among all the capital cities across the country has the lowest cost of living. Housing however is another matter entirely, with Brisbane being third highest in terms of cost in purchasing a housing property. But still, this hasn’t dissuaded buyers from scooping up properties in the state, because of the large draw of tourism here. In fact, five major theme parks are all set within the state of Queensland, and this contributes significantly to the strong tourism industry.
The real estate market in Queensland is still trying to cope with the high level of demand for properties all across the price range throughout the state and more so in the state capital, Brisbane. The population growth in the state is also showing a constant pattern and has led to a very strong real estate market. Infrastructure is also being updated constantly to meet the growing demands of a bigger population.
With six hundred fifty new residents calling Queensland home every week, it’s no wonder there is a decisive lead of demand over supply in real estate in Queensland. With projected demand for the next twenty years at almost six hundred thousand homes, now would be a great time to capitalize on this demand and investing with property developers to help you make your money grow within the properties market here in Queensland.
A good decision would be to invest in rental homes in Queensland, not only for the tourism market but also for the working class who will be moving into the area for work, thus ensuring that there will be a strong demand for rental properties where you’ll be investing and a low vacancy rate for these as well. You can check government statistics that show the expected increase of the population, and you can simply deduce that all these people have to live somewhere and you won’t have a shortage of clientele. In any case, Queensland is a good market to show where you can get a nice, healthy profit from your investments.