By Lauren Reddiex, produced for online by Naveen Razik

Homeowners will have 211 armoured high-tech vehicles to thank for an expected property price bonanza in Ipswich.

New research from Riskwise Property Research has rated Ipswich as an ideal city for home buyers and investors, with house prices only expected to grow in the wake of a recently signed five billion dollar defence contract.

The Land 400 armoured vehicle deal announced in March will see Rheinmetall Defence Australia build a new fleet of combat reconnaissance vehicles, known as Boxer CRVs, for the defence force.

The defence contract, worth a whopping five billion dollars, is being promoted as a huge boost for the Ipswich economy.

CEO of RiskWise Property Research Don Peleg says affordability, proximity and population growth are key value drivers for housing prices, and that a contract of this size will only help boost the market.

“When you add on top of that a very major contract, then you have a good long-term investment,” he says.

The contract will create more than 330 permanent jobs and significant opportunities for local businesses, key factors contributing to the rise in housing demand.

Mr Peleg says the deal “makes that area in Ipswich a kind of a hub for that industry”.

“If you take all of this together, you combine them with the population growth and other things into context, you see that it will definitely have a good impact on the area, for the medium and long-term.”

The median house price for the Ipswich area is quite low compared to Brisbane, currently sitting at $371,000, but RiskWise research predicts a growth rate of four to six percent is likely in the coming years.

Ipswich councillor Paul Tully described the defence industry as vital to the region’s economy.

“Defence is so important to Ipswich, now we are describing ourselves as the defence capital of Australia.” Cr Tully explains.

The defence deal will also see a military vehicle centre of excellence established at Redbank, with Cr Tully expecting the new development to drive up employment.

“The other spinoff effect from this is with a number of jobs and the number of years involved,” he said.

“We are going to see more houses built, a population increase and rising house prices which is good for a lot of existing residents.”

The current population of Ipswich is 210,000, but Councillor Tully expects that figure to double in the next fifteen to twenty years.