A regional city’s property market will be given a “shot in the arm” on the back of confirmation the area will receive an additional rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN), according to a property analyst.

Queensland’s Mackay, 970 kilometres north of Brisbane, is set to be a beneficiary of the infrastructure upgrade, Kelly Higgins, principal of MPM Property at Canelands Central said.

According to Ms Higgins, some parts of Mackay have already received the fibre-optic cable, but the confirmation of the next stage of the rollout has brought Mackay residents one step closer to complete “lightning fast” broadband, even ahead of the state’s capital city.

Ms Higgins said tenants have already begun asking about Mackay’s NBN when inspecting homes.

“The NBN has become one of the first questions people ask, simply because of the difference in speed between fibre and copper,” she said.

MPM Property cited Coffs Harbour as an example of a property market that had responded positively to the NBN rollout.

The company said median weekly rents for three-bedroom homes have increased by 6.4 per cent year-on-year, and two-bedroom rents rose four per cent over the March quarter. Median house prices in the area also rose consistently throughout the year, according to MPM Property.

Ms Higgins said the NBN hadn’t yet noticeably impacted on vacancy rates in Mackay, it was “inevitable” that it would influence tenants as awareness of NBN data speeds become more widespread.

“It’s inevitable that NBN will influence where some people decide to rent property,” she said.

“Mackay homes receive among the fastest internet speeds in Australia, so that box is ticked as market awareness of the NBN’s appeal grows.”

Smart Property Investment – Wednesday 24th December 2014