Port Douglas Development - Far From Over

Recently the Cairns Post reported that the building boom in theFar North hit $6.9 billion.Here in Port Douglas we can't really put a figure on it butspeculation has the number around $2 billion.This includes the $20 million being spent by the Ray Group onthe revamp of the Sheraton Mirage and the construction of Bale,which is well under way. Quite impressive for a sleepy seasidetown and confirming that the building and development period isfar from over in Port. We have seen a large number of variousquality developments getting up and running during the last fewmonths, with many more in the pipeline. To us here in PortDouglas, we find this most encouraging that developers andfinance companies are visually expressing great faith in ourlittle village. Back on the highway, when driving North fromCairns International Airport, the Southern end and entrance toPort Douglas is about to see some major changes with the startof construction on "Volante". Claiming to be the biggest resortin the Douglas Shire,set on a massive 87 acres, Stage 1 alone ofthis development will comprise 94, 5 star two bedroom, dual keycourtyard and lakeside villas. On completion sometime by 2008Stage 1 of Volante will trade as the Grand Pacific Resort PortDouglas. Meanwhile closer to town and the fabulous Four MileBeach - the boutique development market is also enjoyingunprecedented interest, with small but luxury fitted 2 and 3bedroom apartments wi...

...th low overheads and freedom of useavailable for the purchasers: giving them more flexibility withthe end use. These include: "360" proving so popular of whichonly 3 villas remain, "Serenity" located in a very desirable culde sac and offering real value for money, "Temple Moon" wellunder construction with only 4 villas remaining, And of courseSea Temple which is now approximately 50% constructed andsold.We have noticed some of the more expensive ( i.e. milliondollar plus apartments and developments) have slowedconsiderably in the number of sales and this simply appears tobe market adjustment whilst people sit back and analyse returnson investment as opposed to the last 4 years of high capitalgrowth. Basically the market is compressing bottom level pricesare still rising and very buoyant and the top end has leveled ifnot showing signs of marginally retreating. None of the above is discouraging the buyers of Lagoons, whichhas proved extremely popular - especially with the developerreducing prices by over $100,000 resulting in rocketing salesfor the last 2 months. Investors have been quick to buy 3bedroom fully furnished brand new apartments in anarchitecturally brilliant building for as little as $395,000 -ifyou are thinking "that sounds like a bargain" you best hurryvery few of these remain. Further the old "Havana" site which unfortunately never got offthe ground -not incidentally because of lack of sales- is now...

...onthe market as a partially developed site and will bear watchingclosely, The "Gekko" site has been restructured and we understand approx35 exclusive condominiums with a huge pool is scheduled toproceed some time in 2006. Of course this is a beachfrontlocation and prices will without doubt reflect accordingly.Another prime development is the Coconut Grove site by Juniperlocated only 50 metres from the beach in Macrossan Street. Butby far closest to the town and cosmopolitan main street isShangri-La Port Douglas. Receiving many strong enquiries thistop end high quality development featuring 2 lagoon style pools,and 27 two bedroom apartments with spa room and gymnasium.Located only a stones throw from the beach and main street. Thedevelopers are offering a guaranteed 7% gross return and havehad previous success in Port Douglas with The Meridian which isshowing excellent returns. Buyers can gauge a fair idea of thequality that Shangri-la Port Douglas will offer from inspectingThe Meridian and the developers are more than happy to use TheMeridian as their yard stick. Apartments still available in the$600's. This building and development phase should come as nosurprise especially when you take into consideration the latesttourist statistics to the region showing a 19.6% increase ininternational visitors to Port Douglas. If you take a long termview of the market, there really is no downside to investing inPort Douglas.