The Pilbara Boom and Bust

Rick Hockey - Hedland's Number 1 Agent talks to Trent Fleskens of the Perth Property Show about the ups and downs of the Pilbara Regions Boom and Bust.

They talk about the rise and fall of real estate, the affect of the boom and bust on the average investor and home owner.

The Pilbara region was known for its major boom period - with a shortage of demand for property, sky high weekly rents and growing property prices.

It was driven by the huge rental prices so people were buying a property based on its rental yield or return on investment. With most properties providing huge returns and long term leases, it seemed to good to be true. Some returns were between 8 and 15%. A few 4 and 5 bedroom homes in Pretty pool were even attracting rents up to $5000 per week.

So when did things start to change? In the late part of 2012, investors started to pull back from the market, construction slowed down, iron ore prices plummeted and the effect was reductions in rent and mining expenses were cut back. Many local agents went bust and the population which was previously 20,000 now sits around 13,000.

Hear more about Rick's learning curve, the market and the affect on the property market.

Listen to the full podcast here> The Perth Property Show Podcast