Illawarra – on a trajectory for growth
The Illawarra Chapter of the Property Council hosted Brian Haratsis, Director from MacroPlan Dimasi, for a lunch with over 130 business people in Wollongong on Wednesday 24 February 2016. Brian gave an energetic and insightful presentation on the strong economic performance of the Illawarra region, signposting the variety of opportunities for growth in different sectors over the coming years.
Some of the key highlights from his presentation include:
- With a healthy unemployment rate of 4.6% and an increase in employment in services, health and tourism, the Illawarra now has an economic profile similar to that of Sydney.
- 2009 – 2013 showed solid jobs growth in comparison to Sydney.
- Population growth is likely to be strong, and outstrip the conservative forecasts used by the NSW Government in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Plan.
- Illawarra has shown strong growth in house prices over the past year of 14.3% to a median house price of $578,000, one of the highest medians in regional NSW.
- Key opportunities exist in the following sectors:
- Becoming a specialist in providing health services
- Targeting the Chinese tourism market in order to capitalise on the exponential increase in outbound tourist numbers over the coming years
- South West Sydney Growth – close proximity to Badgery’s Creek and the becoming an employment hub for the extra 2 million people expected to live in Sydney by 2051. Will stimulate job growth, particularly in construction.