This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Gold Coast’s housing market has turned in a gold medal performance ahead of the Commonwealth Games, leading Queensland for growth in 2017 alongside the Sunshine Coast and Noosa.
According to the latest REIQ Queensland Market Monitor, the annual median house price on the Gold Coast grew by 7.7% to $615,000, clearly outpacing the modest growth in Brisbane.
Podium finishers Sunshine Coast returned 6.4% growth to $569,000 and Noosa 6.2% to $650,000, just $15,000 below the Brisbane LGA median house price.
REIQ chief executive officer Antonia Mercorella said demand in Noosa was placing strong pressure on limited supply levels, but the topography made more supply challenging
“Noosa’s world-class beaches, stunning natural bushland settings and wonderful warm community are factors that are fanning the flames of buyer demand. It is inevitable that this will push up prices,” she said.
State leader Gold Coast has benefited from the strong local economy driven by the infrastructure spend ahead of next month’s Commonwealth Games.
Its most expensive suburb for houses is Mermaid Beach, which saw 8.9% growth to $1.56 million.
The Main Beach unit market jumped by 14.3% and is the most expensive suburb to buy a unit, with a median unit price of $720,000.
Lot prices grew by a strong 8.1% to $268,000. Rental vacancies are at a tight 1.1%, but a significant supply is expected to come onto the market in the next 18 months.
House prices state-wide were up 3.3% to $475,000, units rose by 1.0% to $400,000, and vacant was down by 3.9%.
Greater Brisbane itself saw house price growth of 3.4% to $517,000, while units were down 1.7% to $412,000 and vacant land lots of up to 2,400 sqm fell 2.4% to $229,000.
The Brisbane LGA market grew a modest 2.6% as its inner suburb of Teneriffe became the first $2 million suburb in the state, ending 2017 with a median house price of $2.4 million. Mercorella said it is likely the tightly-held suburb, which has around 400 houses, could reach an annual median of $3 million next year if current growth levels continue.
Brisbane’s second-most expensive suburb New Farm actually dropped 4.4% to finish the year at $1.5 million.
House price growth in the greater Brisbane area was led by Ipswich, with 4.6% to $340,000, followed by Redland City with 4% to $525,000. Moreton Bay few 3.3% to $434,000 and Logan by 2.6% to $390,000.
Apartment markets were broadly subdued, apart from the Gold Coast’s 3.7% growth. Brisbane LGA continued to struggle with oversupply and prices fell by 2.2% to $440,995, and Moreton Bay was down 4.7% to $342,900. Ipswich and Logan were steady at $322,250 and $260,000 respectively, and Redland rose by 3.3% to $408,450.
Prices for vacant lots in Brisbane LGA shot up 13.3% to $421,500, while Logan lots inched upwards to $207,825. Falls were seen in Moreton Bay, of 3.4% to $245,000, and of 2.6% in Ipswich to $190,000.
Gross rental yields for houses were steady across Greater Brisbane over the 12-month period. Brisbane LGA was at 3.2%, Ipswich 4.7%, Logan 4.6%, Moreton Bay 4.2% and Redland 3.9%. For units, Logan was up to 6.4%, Brisbane LGA and Redland were down to 4.8% and 4.6% respectively, and Ipswich (4.7%) and Moreton Bay (4.6%) were steady.
Rents for three-bedroom houses dipped to $420 per week in Brisbane LGA, and were steady in Ipswich ($310 pw), Logan ($350 pw) and Redland ($400 pw), and up in Moreton Bay to $355 pw. For two-bedroom flats, Brisbane LGA tumbled to $400 pw, Redland ($350 pw) and Ipswich ($260 pw) were steady, and increases were seen in Logan (to $288 pw) and Moreton Bay ($290 pw).
Three-bedroom townhouse rents were steady in Brisbane LGA ($410 pw), Ipswich ($320 pw) and Redland ($350 pw), and were down in Logan to $330 pw and Moreton Bay, to $340 pw.
In the regional markets, Toowoomba’s tapering continued on from 2016, with modest house price growth of 1.4% to $355,000 and a fall of 1.3% in units to $305,000.
The recovery in the Fraser Coast saw house prices up by 3.6% to 316,000, marking 11% growth since 2012. The units market was soft, down 2.4% to $255,000.
Mercorella said there was clearly more confidence in the market as buyers returned to a market that offered a beautiful coastal lifestyle.
“This is an area where buyers can be confident they will achieve capital growth over time and the market fundamentals are steady,” she said.
Bundaberg adding 2.2% to its house prices, finished 2017 at $285,000, while Gladstone fell by a further 13.9% to $280,000. Mercorella said this brings it into line with similar regional towns, such as Bundaberg, and it is the hope that this might lead to a stabilisation of demand and the median price.
More stable demand was seen in Rockhampton, which fell 1.9% to $265,000. While it is now 11.1% below where it was five years ago, the fall has been much more tempered than seen in markets such as Mackay, down 23.7% over the same period.
Rockhampton units remain more expensive that houses. The median price slipped 1.3% to $295,000, still $30,000 more expensive than buying a house.
Demand is returning to Mackay, which was steady over the 12 months to December 2017.
Mercorella said anecdotal evidence had come from local agents all through the year suggesting the market was improving, but until now the data has not supported their assertions. The median house price is $325,000, although unit prices dropped by nearly 13% in 2017, to finish on $205,000.
While Townsville slipped 2.5% to $328,000, Mercorella said it was possible drought-breaking rain would have a positive impact on the property market.
“The optimism is very evident, the city has greened up and everyone is optimistic about the future,” she said. “This could easily translate to increased buyer confidence.”
A strong tourism sector and jobs growth drove the Cairns house market to be one of the standout regional performers, with prices growing 3.8% to $410,000, while units were down 2.7%.
Mercorella said that with a strong tourism sector, jobs growth had helped the property market perform well.
Australian Property Journal
