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13-10-2015, 08:58 PM
- Oct 13 2015 at 5:51 PM
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[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/k/8/5/n/o/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gk802x.png/1444729356106.jpg[/img]Rio Tinto is selling 84 dwellings across five sites in Dampier and Karratha. Christian Sprogoe Photography
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by Su-Lin Tan
Holidaymakers and home owners could be relaxing soon on the shores of the Pilbara, as Rio Tinto offers vacant housing on the Western Australian coast for sale.
The mining giant is selling 84 dwellings across five sites in Dampier and Karratha.
Marketed as the "the largest variation of dispersed housing ever offered in the city of Karratha", the sale will be managed by LJ Hooker's Vincent Siciliano and David Hipworth.
"Rio Tinto built 150-200 new dwellings and as contractors move out, these became vacant," Mr Hipworth said.
"There will be a revival in Dampier, which is still a coastal seaside town. There may still be a lot of mining infrastructure but it still has a lot of attraction, especially when the new marina comes along."
The properties being offered for sale are four blocks of apartments, with 48 two-bedroom and three-bedroom units in Dampier and a complex of 36 two-storey townhouses in Karratha.
Some of the properties were original 1960 buildings and others have been renovated.
They are separately strata-titled and could be individually refurbished for sale or lease.
"It's perfect for holiday accommodation, employee residences and backpacker lodging," Mr Hipworth said.
The surplus land on the freehold sites could also be redeveloped, Mr Siciliano said.
"Despite the resources construction program having peaked in the area, iron ore outputs in the Pilbara are at record levels, and the City of Karratha still has a permanent population estimated at 26,000 residents," he said.
The departure of mining workers because of a decline in the sector had led to property prices in Australia's regional resource hubs such as the Pilbara plunging up to 74 per cent in the past three years, CBRE said in a report.
The Karratha area recorded a 44 per cent fall in prices since 2012 and a 31 per cent fall in the past year.
"With commodity prices down 40 per cent from 2012 levels, the chances of a rapid rebound in new resource projects is low. Therefore, the residential markets in Australia's mining towns are unlikely to enter a new growth cycle over at least the medium term," CBRE's Sam Reilly said.
Mr Hipworth is confident the sites, which are open to expressions of interest until December 4, will sell.