The main outcome following the royal commission in relation to the property market seems to be stricter lending standards across the board and this, of course, is likely to have some impact on all property markets around Australia. However, in terms of Brisbane, there is still a lot of optimism for its future growth potential, despite what has been occurring in Sydney and Melbourne. Here is the latest Brisbane property market update February 2019, which explains what is happening locally and what pockets are performing better than others.
According to the latest CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index overall, Brisbane has cooled slightly during February with a reduction in the combined median value of -0.3%.
Of course, this may be a reflection of what is actually selling, rather than a broad indication of a market that has slightly declined. We know lenders are likely reducing their exposure to borrowers with high debt levels relative to their incomes, which could be skewing demand towards the middle to lower end of the housing market.
As per previous monthly updates, four regions within Brisbane are still showing the strongest housing market conditions across the capital city sub-regions according to the CoreLogic report.
Whilst the growth in these regions is not significant, with annual dwelling value changes of less than 2%, it does show a level of resilience for property owners and buyers in certain geographical pockets in and around Brisbane.
But what excites us most is that Brisbane is now the top capital city in terms of views per listing on Domain.
We are certainly receiving a lot of interstate investor enquiry of people wanting to position themselves in Brisbane opportunities before any uplift in values takes place. If this trend continues, and has a flow on effect on to the demand for properties in our great city, then we could start to see upward pressure on prices with increasing buyer activity.
Investor sentiment is very good in Brisbane according to recent data with 33% of surveyed property investors highlighting Brisbane as the best place in Australia to invest right now. This is, in part, attributed to strong levels of affordability as well as promising opportunities for long-term growth. Brisbane has even been with tips that SE Queensland property prices are on the brink of a growth phase after almost a decade of stagnation. Our region has not experienced the unprecedented growth that both Sydney and Melbourne went through recently, and yet economic indicators are strong for sustainable, moderate growth moving forward.
Residential vacancies in Brisbane are trending lower according to SQM Research suggesting a tighter rental market which is great news for investors.
Queensland’s population expected to hit 6.7 million by 2036 and this growth requires building more than 30,000 new dwellings every year between now and then. This growth is being supported by more than $25 billion in infrastructure spending. There are certainly some very exciting times ahead.
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Melinda Jennison