17 Mar 2022
Words Tony Raggatt Townsville Bulletin

NSW investors buy van park in Bowen

A beachfront Bowen caravan park has sold for $4.6m showing the Whitsundays town in which the 2008 movie Australia was filmed still holds immense appeal.

ResortBrokers Townsville and surrounds broker Des Fagg has sold the Harbour Lights Caravan Park to the Economy family, which operates parks in New South Wales.

Harbour Lights has 89 powered sites and 49 cabins from budget to deluxe, along the Santa Barbara Parade seafront strip in the town.

The property, which enjoys increased annual turnover, includes a swimming pool, barbecue area, free Wi-Fi, camp kitchen, and three amenity blocks as well as solar power, which reduces the cost of electricity consumption.

"The owners had this property for 25 years and that is a long time in this game," Mr Fagg said.

"There is quite a lot of selling activity in Bowen in present in both the motel and caravan park space, particularly from the mum and dad investor.

"With the talk of a space centre being built in Bowen mid this year or early next year, interest in this Whitsundays destination is high."

Mr Fagg said trading figures for many of these kind of assets were a lot higher, partly because the Covid-19 pandemic had boosted domestic travel to regional Queensland centres.

He said the property market was also strong.

Several North Queensland assets are understood to be under contract in sales that are due to settle soon, while other assets like the Queens Beach Tourist Village sold in 2019.

Asked if looming interest rates would kill the property market, Mr Fagg said it may make people a bit more cautious but added that so too would Covid-19.

"Covid is not out of the thinking, that's still in the back of everybody's minds," Mr Fagg said.

According to RealEstate.com.au's 2021 Suburb Report Card, demand for houses in Bowen grew by 95 per cent and units by 74 per cent in the past year.

ResortBrokers is Australia's longest established agency operating in the accommodation and hospitality sector.

Established by Ian Crooks in 1985, it was the first broking house to focus exclusively on sales of tourism and accommodation-realted businesses and remains a family-owned business.