CRISIS? What crisis? Cairns' property industry leaders say there has never been a better time to buy a home or invest in the city.

That was the message for more than 240 people given by construction heavyweights such as the CEC Group’s Roy Lavis and the Hedley Group’s David Row at the Winds of Change homeowners’ seminar at Brothers Leagues Club last night.

Along with other speakers including ING Bank’s Queensland manager Andrew White and Herriots valuers Natalie Bond and Bob McPhail, the crowd was assured the fundamentals of the Far Northern property market were still strong.

"I believe we’re close, if not at the bottom, of the property market now, prices are unlikely to go much lower," Mr Row, Hedley’s development manager said.

"And given the supply of stock on hand local developers are all prepared to deal."

Mr McPhail agreed the tide had turned and buyers for the next few months were "in the box seat" to strike the sort of deals that would be unlikely to come around again.

Choice Finance mortgage broker Toby Sciacca, who organised the seminar, said he could not believe the turnout or the positive response from everyone from first homebuyers to veteran investors.

A similar seminar in Melbourne attracted 230 people and one in Sydney fewer than 200.

"The timing for this is perfect, which is why we put it on," Mr Sciacca said.

Speakers said the combination of factors, from low interest rates to the Federal Government’s up to a record $21,000 grants for first homebuyers, along with the collapse of the stockmarket, meant there had never been a better time to enter the property market.

"The people who do well are the ones who recognise the turning point and buy at the bottom," Mr Row said.

"There’s plenty of reasons to suggest we’re near the bottom now and we’ll see growth in 2009."

He said prices would go up because Australia, unlike the US, had an under supply of houses, with only 145,000 a year being built when it needed 190,000 a year.

Cairns was in a particularly favourable position because its median house price was $375,000 compared with the national average of $456,000, Mr Row said.

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