As with the smaller capital cities like Hobart and Adelaide, Brisbane saw the performance of its property market improve on the back of the ongoing uptick in Sydney and Melbourne.
According to CoreLogic’s Home Value Index for October 2019, the property price increase of 1.1% in Brisbane over the three months to October 2019 was the city’s most positive since December 2015.
With improvements in the local economy, tenants are also coming back in, and rental rates in Brisbane increased by 0.3% in the same period – it was the only capital city other than Adelaide to record a boost.
Knight Frank’s Australian Residential Development Review for the second half of 2019 noted that the Brisbane LGA had an average vacancy rate of 2.8% overall as of June 2019. The innercity suburbs recorded an average vacancy rate of 3.2%, with those in the middle ring at 2.5%. Outer-ring suburbs had the lowest average vacancy rate at 2.0%.
“Rental yields in Queensland are much more attractive, with gross rental yields for regional Queensland and Brisbane at 5.4% and 4.6%, respectively,” says Dennis Wong, property data research specialist at Real Estate Investar.
“As of October 2019, SQM reported vacancy rates across Southeast Queensland are much tighter, with Brisbane, Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast and Ipswich all reporting rates of 2.5% or lower.”
This indicates that Queensland’s best markets are found outside the metro – the findings of the Home Value Index show that the regions of Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday, Gold Coast and Cairns were three of the top regional markets in the country.
AllianceCorp founder Jason Paetow highlighted a number of suburbs that he expected to stand out in 2020, and one of these lies within the Sunshine Coast, arguably the strongest market in the Sunshine State.
“Maroochydore is a suburb with low median property prices, stunning beaches and plenty of infrastructure development,” he says. “Projects in the area include the Sunshine Coast International Airport expansion, the University Hospital and the proposed light rail facility – construction could commence by 2025.”
Rental demand is expected to increase further given the proximity of the Sunshine Coast University and TAFE campus. With the university also looking to establish a campus within the Maroochydore CBD, vacancies may tighten even more.
SUBURB TO WATCH
CLEVELAND:
A suburb within the central locality of Redland City, Cleveland was once the territory of the Koobenpul clan of the Quandamooka. It sits on the western shores of Moreton Bay.
In the 12 months to October 2019, the prices of houses and units slipped by 1.4% and 7.4%, respectively. As a result, the median unit value has fallen below $400,000 and the median house price to under $650,000.
In terms of weekly rental rates, units saw less of a decline, falling by only 0.6%, while house rents dropped by 2%. Units also generated higher yields, at an average of 5.3%, versus 4.3% for houses.
Yields: Unit yields are higher than houses, at 5.3% after a slight drop in rents of 0.6%
Location: Cleveland lies on the western side of Moreton Bay in the central locality of Redland City
