Gateway to the Reef
Cairns is the international gateway to two precious and pristine World Heritage listed natural wonders. The region is part of Australia’s Wet Tropics and is framed by the lush World Heritage listed Wet Tropics rainforest to the west and north and the Coral Sea and World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to the east. These attributes make the region a world-renowned tourist destination.
Over 158,000 people reside in Cairns and this is one of Australia’s most vibrant multicultural cities. People from more than 47 nations choose to call Cairns home, with around 1300 immigrants taking on Australian citizenship here each year.
Cairns hosts approximately 300 days of sunshine a year, plenty of space and a friendly, relaxed tropical lifestyle. Nestled between the iconic World Heritage listed rainforest and Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is one of Australia’s most popular destinations.
Sporting pristine islands with crystal clear waters, stunning waterfalls, lush rainforest and rugged outback, Cairns is the perfect location for people of all ages with all interests. With more than 600 tours a day, make the most of the year-round outdoor lifestyle while embracing the cosmopolitan city’s vibrant tropical culture.
Cairns is tropical North Queensland’s major commercial, industrial, educational, retail and entertainment centre. It provides a diverse range of high quality professional and business services both locally and internationally to our rapidly expanding Asia Pacific market.
With well–developed transport and logistical networks, extensive health and education services, a high standard of living, affordable housing and vibrant cultural amenities, the Cairns region is the ideal place to live, visit and do business.
Cairns Tourism
Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef is a unique environment, renowned nationally and internationally as a premier tourism destination. The region attracts more than 2.4 million domestic and international visitors each year.
In fact, the latest International Visitor Survey shows that Tropical North Queensland has stolen the international holiday-maker crown from the Gold Coast for the first time this year, with overseas holiday-makers spending nearly $1 billion when visiting the region.
The Cairns International and Domestic Airport is the fifth busiest airport in Australia with direct flights throughout the world. The Cairns Cruise Ship Terminal welcomes more than 180 Cruise vessels each year. With direct flights to major international and domestic cities including Singapore, Hong Kong and seasonal direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai.
Cairns Airport figures show that the passenger trend at the domestic terminal is maintaining near record highs, while passenger numbers at the international terminal continue to build, showing a trend increase of 20.3% since October last year. Overall passenger numbers at the airport have grown by 4.5% over the period from October 2014 to October 2015.
These figures continue to demonstrate that Cairns Airport is a leading component in our broader tourism and economic revival. Furthermore, flight increases (to Manila, Auckland, Hong Kong) scheduled to commence in coming months, combined with increased growth during the Chinese New Year period in 2016, will ensure that this strong growth continues.
Cairns Property Market
The Cairns region offers a wide spread of housing options and rates. Three and four bedroom homes with good sized backyards can be found in most suburbs however Cairns also offers many modern apartment complexes, close to restaurants, shops and offices.
The Cairns median house price has maintained an increasing trend in recent months, with the median house price trend coming in at $409,500 in September 2015. This indicates a trend rise of 4.7% over the latest 12 months. Meanwhile the trend in median unit has increased 5.2% over the latest 12 months. The median land price trend stood at $198,000 in September 2015, impacted in recent months by compositional change due to stronger growth in Southern Corridor land sales in the sales mix.
The rental market in Cairns is very good for property owners with low rental vacancy driving up rent prices and, in turn, rental returns. Average rental return is currently over 5%.