Moranbah Rotary Home and Leisure Expo 2017
We have been attending the Moranbah Rotary Home and Leisure Expo for 15 years. Moranbah is a town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, located on the Peak Downs Highway between Mackay and Clermont.
I have served clients in Moranbah for the past 35 years so how did I come to build a client base in this region?
I lived in Brisbane at that time and one of my clients, John, Brisbane based senior mining engineer with UTAH Development and Coal Mining Company.
Back in 1982 Moranbah had two mines, Goonyella and Riverside, with one owned by UTAH and one by BHP. I developed a residential property portfolio for John, who then referred other colleagues in Moranbah to me.
The mines owned all the housing in Moranbah at that time. Shortly after my first visit, BHP bought out UTAH and amalgamated the two mines. BHP then started selling the houses to their workers. They decided they were in the business of mining, not real estate. It was costing them a fortune to maintain all the housing, so they offered them for sale at an average price of $19K
You would expect that the miners would have snapped them up at that price yet it was just the opposite. They were only paying about $12 per week in rent, paying nothing for electricity, insurance, repairs or maintenance. Once they owned the house they were up for all these costs plus rates and loan repayments.
Over the next 17-18 years, BHP kept dropping their asking price taking Moranbah down to an average of $8,500. And in Dysart and Blackwater prices dropped by Year 2000 to $4,500 and $Zero respectively!
Over the next 13-14 years, the house prices went crazy. It astounded me that rational people believed that these crazy rents and house prices were sustainable. As president of the Emerald Chamber of Commerce at that time, I copped flack as I advised against investing in housing in any mining town anywhere.
House prices are now back to reality and Moranbah is a great place to live. Core Lifestyle Magazine in their Sept/Oct edition did a 10-page feature on Moranbah. It was great to read such a positive story.
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If you enjoy sport, it does not get much better than Moranbah with one of the best golf courses in the Central Highlands. And let’s not forget rugby league with the Moranbah Miners and the Moranbah Miners for Senior Ladies.
There are many sporting clubs and opportunities in Moranbah. Also service clubs like Rotary, Lions and Country Women’s Association (CWA) and a great community Radio Station.
With the CWA in Moranbah, their membership is younger than most. There must be something in the local water as last year the place was full of babies in prams.
We had our famous free raffle again this year at the expo; a choice of a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, a Philips Air Fryer or a Sunbeam Pizza Bake and Grill.
I will fill you in on all the details of the Moranbah Rotary Home and Leisure Expo in my next blog.
Steve Taylor
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At the helm of Steve Taylor & Partners, Steve has been delivering expert advice and product knowledge to clients for over 30 years. We provide individuals, couples and families with the right strategies to create wealth and change their lives with solid bricks and mortar.
DISCLAIMER
Steve Taylor & Partners blog is opinion and not advice. Readers should seek their own professional advice on the above subject. The figures stated in this article were accurate at the time of publication. For up to date figures, please contact our office.
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