IT’S the postcode you don’t want to put on your loan application.

Ipswich property investor Simone Karandrews found out the hard way when a major bank knocked back her mortgage application for a $379,900 four-bedroom, two bathroom home in Deebing Heights, purely on the basis of the postcode.

The loan was rejected because it was deemed “risky” by the lender because the property was located in a “rural” area.

But Deebing Heights is an easy 40-minute commute from the Brisbane CBD, and less than 10 minutes from the centre of Ipswich, which has undergone a massive population boom in the past decade.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale told news.com.au it was just the latest slight in a long history of ill-informed attitudes towards his city.

“I’m sick and tired of people judging us on our postcode,” Cr Pisasale said.

“This country is being dictated by out-of-touch banks and valuers who have no understanding what a postcode means. It really frustrates me.

“It’s about time they got off their backsides, and start to have a look at the areas they are investing in.”

Postcode 4306 is one of Australia Post’s largest delivery zones, covering some 53 suburbs — all of which the bank classifies as rural.

No distinction is made between those areas considered to form part of the city fringe, and those which are indisputably country towns. Ms Karandrews argued that this was absurd.

“The property is on the same road as a brand new school, with parks and shops nearby,” she said. “There's certainly nothing regional about it whatsoever.”

Two years ago, the sprawling area covered by the postcode prompted a local councillor and former postmaster to demand a Federal Government review after insurance companies refused to grant cover.

While some parts of 4306 had been hit by the floods, others were dry as a bone, councillor David Pahlke told the Queensland Times.

“When I was a postmaster in the 1990s, Australia Post refused to review it and here they are 20 years later and still refusing to review it,” he said.

Ms Karandrews was forced to search for another lender to finance her purchase, which she is entering into as part of her self-managed superannuation fund.

She was adamant that her financials were strong, but said the bank advised that 4306 was categorised as “rural”, even though it takes in dozens of suburbs on Brisbane’s metropolitan fringe.

It is understood that the type of loan her broker originally applied for had a low risk profile, and that the bank regards postcode 4306 as being too risky.

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BANKS ARE ‘OUT OF TOUCH’

The Queensland Government has earmarked Ipswich and its surrounding suburbs, including Deebing Heights, as a major growth corridor.

But Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said bankers and property valuers were yet to catch up with the area’s transformation.

Ipswich began its life as a country town, and was originally intended to be the Queensland capital, but for decades was known as one of Brisbane’s roughest outer suburbs.

The beleaguered city has fought long and hard to revamp its image, after long being dubbed a bogan enclave.

Cr Pisasale, who grew up in Ipswich, recalled the days when it was referred to as “two-head city”, a crude reference to inbreeding.

He said the city’s underdog status had motivated residents to work harder, which paid off last year when it was named one of the world’s smartest cities thanks to its digital prowess, including an NBN partnership and Digital Hub project, a computer training program for residents and business owners.

THE ONLY WAY IS UP

Ipswich was the second Australian city to make the Top 7 most Intelligent Communities list, announced in New York City by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) in New York. The state of Victoria won the honour in 2004.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten visited the city early in the Federal Election campaign, pledging $200 million for a new motorway on April 28.

Its population has increased by 700 per cent in the past decade, jumping from about 25,000 to 180,000 — and is set to reach 355,000 by 2026, when the local economy is projected to be worth $12.7 billion.

A new Mater Hospital has opened its doors in the suburb of Springfield, and several new schools have been built in recent years.

The local railway industry has been revived by Canadian multinational Bombardier, which was awarded a State Government tender to build a $190 million railway maintenance centre at Wulkuraka.

The $220 million Polaris Data Centre at Springfield, built by engineering firm Thiess in 2009, is a hi-tech, bulletproof fortress that safeguards the State Government’s IT assets.

And the $550 million Dusit Thani Brookwater Golf and Spa Resort hit the market last year.

Another major employer is the Royal Australian Air Force, with RAAF Base Amberley — the largest operational base in the country — located 8km outside Ipswich.

“My message for banks and valuers: Ipswich has moved on,” Cr Pisasale said.

“I’ll never say that our city is better than anywhere else, but what I will say is over the last 12 years we’ve worked so hard to make our city the best it can be.”

He said one out-of-touch valuer assumed that a $400,000 property he came to inspect would be an established home, showing up at the real estate office to collect the keys.

“He thought for that price it’d have to be a mansion to be in Ipswich. It was a block of land,” Cr Pisasale said.

“I laugh at these bank managers. They’re letting their banks down, and they’re letting their customers down. And it’s about time they get off their little butts and stop judging postcodes and come out and have a look at what that postcode means and how it’s changed.”

POSTCODE 4306 QUEENSLAND

Willowbank

White Rock

Wivenhoe Pocket

Wanora

Washpool

Vernor

Walloon

Teelah

Thagoona

Swanbank

Taromeo

South Ripley

Split Yard Creek

Purga

Ripley

Peak Crossing

Pine Mountain

Muirlea

Nukku

Mount Stanley

Mount Marrow

Mount Crosby

Mount Binga

Moore

Linville

Lark Hill

Lake Manchester

Kholo

Karrabin

Karana Downs

Karalee

Ironbark

Harlin

Haigslea

Goolman

Fernvale

Gilla

Glamorgan Vale

Googa Creek

Deebing Heights

Dundas

England Creek

Fairney View

Borallon

Cherry Creek

Chuwar

Colinton

Blackbutt

Blackbutt North

Blackbutt South

Blacksoil

Barellan Point

Banks Creek

Benarkin North

Benarkin

Avoca Vale

Amberley

dana.mccauley@news.com.au