Brisbane home prices 50pc higher than before the pandemic

Brisbane home prices have risen for an eighth straight month to hit a new record high, continuing on a rapid growth path.

The latest PropTrack Home Price Index, released today, shows the city’s unit and house prices combined gained another 0.3 per cent in August to hit a new median price peak of $752,000, driven strong buyer competition and limited housing stock.

Brisbane was the first capital city to regain all of 2022’s price falls in July and home prices are now 4.2 per cent higher than they were a year ago, up 5.4 per cent year-to-date, and 50 per cent higher than they were in March 2020.

Brisbane’s median house price rose 0.27 per cent to $844,000, while its unit price climbed 0.3 per cent to $561,000 — both fresh record highs.

In regional Queensland, home prices also lifted to a new peak in August — rising nearly 0.2 per cent to a median of $611,000.

This brings regional prices up 4.4 per cent compared to August last year and 54 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, making regional Queensland the strongest performing market in the country since the pandemic.

The median house price in regional Queensland is now $632,000, while the median unit price is $576,000.

Townsville record a 1 per cent jump in its median home price in August, while home prices in Cairns grew 0.2 per cent during the month.

Gold Coast home prices also saw strong gains last month of 1.4 per cent.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the rapid recovery in price falls had taken many people by surprise.

“The large price falls that were expected after the strong gains during Covid haven’t really happened,” Ms Creagh said.

“The picture is a little bit different in Brisbane. We aren’t seeing that flow of new listings pick up as much (as Sydney and Melbourne) and buyers do have pretty restricted options.”

Ms Creagh said the total number of homes listed for sale in Brisbane was 40 per cent below prior decade averages, but that was not the only driver of price growth in the Queensland capital.

“The ongoing strong rebound in population growth and net migration is also probably playing a part,” she said.

“According to our property seeker survey, we’re seeing the number of vendors who think now is a good time to sell has picked up, and we have seen auction activity pick up.

“It will be interesting to see what happens next month with respect to new listings coming to market, but home buying demand is stronger than the supply of properties coming to market on a month to month basis.”

Ray White Collective agent Matt Lancashire said he had noticed a pick up in prestige listings, but there was still far more buyers than homes for sale.

“What we are seeing on the frontline is listings are steady, however dramatically down from last year,” Mr Lancashire said.

“This year to date, across the inner-city we have seen a 30 per cent decrease in new listings to market and in some markets, such as Bulimba and Hawthorne, as much as a 50 per cent decrease.

Mr Lancashire said he was seeing “an enormous amount” of interstate migrants and overseas expats returning to southeast Queensland.

“The numbers we are seeing are 1500 people per week… and generally these buyers are coming in with big budgets and offering on homes quickly,” he said.

“We are coming into the spring selling season, however, from what we are seeing on the front line is still a number of sellers not committing to the market as they don’t have anywhere to go should they sell.”

The Reserve Bank bank board meets on Tuesday to decide what to do with the official cash rate after two months of pauses.

Hotspotting director Terry Ryder said home price data showed the market started rebounding even while interest rates were increasing.

“It’s important to note that the upturn in fortunes occurred long before the RBA decisions in July and August to pause its increases to the official interest rate, just as the decline in major markets like Sydney and Brisbane started well before the first interest rate rise in May 2022,” Mr Ryder said.

“This is because there are greater influences on property market outcomes than the level of interest rates.”

Mr Ryder said factors such as infrastructure, employment nodes, urban renewal, and interstate migration, all had an impact on property prices and the potential for capital growth in an area.

Toowoomba, which has recorded annual home price growth of 8.8 per cent, is one of Hotspotting’s top picks for investors.

“Those who bought the median-priced house in suburbs in (Toowoomba) could have achieved capital growth of more than $100,000 in the past 12 months,” he said.

Article by Elizabeth Tilley – Courier Mail

https://www.couriermail.com.au/property/brisbane-home-prices-50pc-higher-than-before-the-pandemic/news-story/c691dd91be642ce3c9d86f081d64e93d