Figures from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland's (REIQ) Queensland Market Monitor, have revealed that the median house price in Brisbane had grown to $610,000 over the June 2015 quarter.
The price growth comes after the city’s median price had been hovering around the $600,000 for a number of months and REIQ chief executive officer Antonia Mercorella said the increase had been driven by activity at the middle and higher end of the market.
“We know that historically the premium end of the market tends to lead the market into a recovery.
“But we are also seeing sharp increases in activity across the $500,000 to sub-$1 million bracket, which is great news for the majority of the market,” she said.
According to the REIQ, properties in the $500,000 – sub-$1 million bracket accounted for 60% of Brisbane’s market, while there were 300 sales of houses over $1 million.
Zoran Solano, buyer’s agent with Hot Property Specialists, said the increased demand for Brisbane properties in those price ranges was evident.
“It’s really becoming more competitive, for properties in that $500,000 and up range we’re seeing 10 or 20 offers for each property,” Solano said.
“The $1 million and up market is also really buoyant at the moment and becoming more competitive. It’s a lot of money, but people are realising that you get a lot more house for your money in Brisbane than Sydney or Melbourne right now,” he said.
Solano isn’t the only one to have noticed growth in Brisbane’s popularity with those from out of state, with Rocket Property Group general manager Lindy Lear agreeing the city is seeing healthy investor interest.
“We’re finding there’s strong investor interest in the two to four kilometre ring out of the Brisbance CBD, especially for boutique off the plan apartments,” Lear said.
“Those areas that a close to services are really going strong and it’s quite laughable how much more affordable they are compared to somewhere like Sydney,” she said.
Lear said one bedroom apartments in those areas were available for around $380,000 to $430,000, while two-bedroom apartments could be had for under $550,000, but she said investors need to be looking beyond the price tag.
“You do need to be a bit savvy about the suburbs you pick, suburbs like Newstead are seeing these huge multi-storey apartment developments explode and they’re the things you want to stay away from.
“The boutique, smaller developments with low body corporate fees are where the real value is and the properties we’re focussing on are delivering rental yields of around 5.2% and are cash-flow positive.”
Solano backed Lear’s advice to investors to be smart in where they buy, noting some areas of the Brisbane market were already feeling the impact of increased investor activity.
“People can’t just think they can get a cheap house in Brisbane and they’ll be set, already we’re seeing rents stagnate as investors put properties up for rent,” he said.
“You do need to be a bit proactive if you buy here, just some subtle improvements, a dishwasher or air conditioning will go a long way to improving your rental yield as they’re what a lot of tenants consider as standard these days.”
