Unlike its southern counterparts Greater Brisbane still has plenty of suburbs within 20km of the CBD where you can buy a house for less than $700,000. In fact, there are three suburbs within 10km of the city – Everton Park, Stafford and Rocklea – where you can also buy for under that price point. Valuer Herron Todd White says suburbs 15km from the centre of Brisbane, like Nudgee, Banyo, Salisbury and Sunnybank Hills also offered good buying. According to CoreLogic data, there are 215 suburbs in Greater Brisbane with a median house price of $700,000 or less. Herron Todd White director David Notley says Brisbane suburbs where $700,000 delivered reasonable buying opportunities were mostly in the outer reaches of the city. “Try to stick with detached housing where possible and look for nearby retail, transport and lifestyle facilities,” he says. There are still entry level options available in suburbs such as Everton Park, which is only 9km north of the CBD.
Double-digit Growth On Gold Coast
The Gold Coast has emerged as a strong property performer, with new figures revealing many suburbs recorded double-digit price growth in the past year for both houses and units. Its median house price has increased by 20.2% to $787,000, while at the same time the median unit price increased by 10.2% to $496,000. PRD Real Estate figures show transaction levels lifted substantially on the Gold Coast, up by 53% for houses and 76% for units, which equates to 2,347 houses and 3,520 units changing hands. At the same time days on market dropped by more than 30% to 46 days. While prices are on the increase, PRD identified a number of affordable suburbs, where buyers with a budget of $500,000 could buy. In good news for investors the rental market on the Gold Coast continues to perform well with the median unit rent now $460 a week and the median house rent now $597 per week.
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“Sales are at very high levels, while the stock on the market is very low, so I think that tightness in the market will see house price gains continue for the rest of this year.”
ANZ senior economist Felicity Emmett
FHBs Active Despite Price Rises
First home buyers are still keen to gain a foothold in the market despite property price increases throughout Australia. Analysis by the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) shows that first-home buyers aren’t afraid to take on substantial debt if it means they can buy property. FHBs are allocating larger proportions of their incomes to paying off a mortgage. The average family income has increased 112.8% since 2001 but average home loan repayments have gone up 179.4%. The average home loan has increased from $157,239 to $548,323 and there are 67% more first-home buyers in the market now than 20 years ago. REIA president Adrian Kelly says many first-home buyers are not afraid of taking on debt, as they want to escape the rent cycle and like the security of bricks and mortar. Bernard Salt, executive director of The Demographic Group, chalks the dynamic up to the maturing millennial generation finally giving up their cosmopolitan inner[1]city lifestyles for a house in the suburbs
Lockdowns Fail To Dampen Growth
Prolonged lockdowns have done little to dampen property price growth with CoreLogic figures revealing prices are continuing to increase in both NSW and Victoria despite being under strict stay-at-home orders. Hesitancy from vendors to list their properties for sale during the lockdown periods has increased competition for a smaller pool of properties and is leading to price increases. CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless predicts listings will continue to fall in Melbourne particularly while physical inspections of properties are banned. While listings might be down, transaction numbers have remained stable. Lawless expects price growth to slow once lockdowns end and more people list their homes for sale. “You wouldn’t expect housing values to continue rising at this pace for such an extended period of time,” he says. The imbalance between supply and demand has resulted in national property values increasing by 16.1% in the 12 months to 1 August
