Comment 15th April 2013 from Michael Yardney on Vimeo.

House prices are forecast to rise nationally by 3.6 per cent over the next two years.   Western Australia is expected to outperform the market, and Victoria is also expected to rebound strongly.  The latest NAB quarterly residential property survey says capital growth expectations in the next year are strongest in the sub-$500,000 price range but improvements are forecast across all price levels. This is positive news for investors in all capital cities and it seems after years of a slump things are finally turning a corner.

Capital cities aren’t the only good performers.  The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that unsurprisingly, mining towns have had population booms. Towns including Karratha, Roxby Downs, Newman and Middlemount have experienced the fastest population growth since the 2006 Census.   High growth mining towns also have more males than females.

Some bad news this week as well that a major project has been shelved in Broome.   Woodside Petroleum has shelved its current plans for a $30 billion Browse LNG project.   The company says it’s not commercially viable and it will review alternative ideas, such as using a pipeline to existing facilities in the Pilbara, or a small onshore option.   It’s obviously not great news for anyone who has bought in the Broome area recently and it goes to show that mining towns are still a risky investment, as you’re at the mercy of huge mining companies.