INDUSTRY NEWSNSW Real Estate NewsQLD Real Estate News

Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast remain Queensland’s powerhouse markets

Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast are Queenslandโ€™s powerhouse markets driving solid capital growth for property owners, according to the REIQ June quarter market data report.

The latest REIQ Queensland Market Monitor reporting on the June Quarter median price shows that the Brisbane LGA median house price grew 3.6 per cent in the 12 months to June, to reach a new high of $655,000.

The Gold Coast grew 6.8 per cent over the 12 months to June, reaching an annual median house price of $595,000. The Sunshine Coast SD grew 6.2 per cent over the year to June, to a median house price of $550,000.

REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said Queenslandโ€™s southeast corner once again stood out as the ideal housing market, delivering steady, sustainable growth.

โ€œThere is no denying the consistency of Greater Brisbaneโ€™s yearly median house price growth โ€“ we have grown steadily for about four years โ€“ which is proof that affordability combined with jobs and lifestyle are the recipe for a pretty close to perfect house market,โ€ she said.

Capital city data, which looks at house prices to 31 May 2017, also clearly supports the case that Greater Brisbane is an unbeatable house market, when compared with Greater Melbourne and Greater Sydney.

โ€œLooking at Greater Brisbane compared with Greater Melbourne and Greater Sydney our median house price has grown 4 per cent to Melbourneโ€™s 9 per cent and Sydneyโ€™s 6 per cent (for 12 months to 31 May) but as those markets start to cool people are naturally growing concerned about a potential correction.

โ€œHowever, throughout the southeast corner, our growth is based on an improving value proposition, which means it is reliable, sustainable capital growthโ€ she said.

The number of million-dollar suburbs held steady at 14 suburbs, with Auchenflower joining the club and replacing Paddington, which fell out of the club with a median of $994,050:

Ascot ($1,520,000)
Auchenflower ($1,055,000)
Bulimba ($1,110,000)
Chelmer ($1,035,000)
Clayfield ($1,075,000)
Fig Tree Pocket ($1,028,000)
Hamilton ($1,065,000)
Hawthorne ($1,200,000)
Highgate Hill ($1,141,119)
New Farm ($1,600,000)
Robertson ($1,078,000)
St Lucia ($1,255,000)
West End ($1,100,000)
Wilston ($1,200,000)

According to CoreLogic RP Data, more than half (almost 56 per cent) of Sydney suburbs have a median house price of $1 million or more. By comparison, just 5.9 per cent of Brisbane suburbs have a median house price in excess of $1 million. Teneriffe remains Brisbaneโ€™s only $2 million suburb.

Brisbane LGAโ€™s top five suburbs for annual median house price growth in the 12 months to June were:

Wilston (18.8%)
Auchenflower (19.2%)
Gaythorne (21.6%)
Ascot (21.6%)
St Lucia (21.8%)

Queenslandโ€™s top five suburbs for annual median house price growth in the 12 months to June were:

Woodend in Ipswich LGA (34.5%)
Murgon in South Burnett LGA (26.0%)
Clear Island Waters in Gold Coast LGA (24.0%)
Oonoonba in Townsville LGA (23.6%)
Sunshine Beach in Noosa Shire (23.1%)

The unit market performed with less strength this quarter, as weakening demand and continued supply issues deliver flat to negative growth throughout the state.

The standout suburbs where units performed well in Brisbane LGA were:

Norman Park (15.6%)
Highgate Hill (15.3%)
Mount Gravatt (14.4%)
East Brisbane (13.0%)
Annerley (10.1%)

Regional Queensland markets did not perform as strongly this quarter, although Mackay was the stand-out as it delivered strong quarterly growth of 7.4 per cent and second consecutive fall in vacancy rates.

โ€œThis market is finally showing the positive impact that we have been seeing in other parts of the local economy,โ€ Ms Mercorella said.

โ€œMackay is a really positive town, with the housing market finally reaping some small uplift of what has been promising economic activity earlier this year.

โ€œTo be clear, however, the annual median house price eased by 5.6 per cent compared with this time last year, so we donโ€™t want to overstate this result. There is still some way to go before this challenged market recovers its position.

โ€œBut, we are encouraged to see good quarterly growth and we are keenly awaiting next quarterโ€™s results to see if this represents the green shoots of recovery,โ€ Ms Mercorella said.

Gladstone is Queenslandโ€™s most affordable unit market, with a median unit price of $218,750.

Rockhampton offers Queenslandโ€™s most affordable house market with a median house price of $270,500.

Show More

Azal Khan

Azal Khan was a in-house features writer for Elite Agent Magazine.