This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
SOME of Australia’s relatively affordable markets, Adelaide and South East Queensland, are still experiencing growing levels of buyer demand.
According to the latest Quarterly Market Insights from Oliver Hume, Greater Adelaide land prices have grown for the fifth consecutive quarter, hitting an average price of $280,000.
The median residential land gross prices in Greater Adelaide were up 6.5% in the March quarter, for a 16.1% increase for the year. Compared to the average price in Melbourne of $408,000.
Residential land price growth has been driven by Adelaide’s relative affordability and a growing housing shortage, with the SA capital boasting the lowest capital city vacancy rate in the country.
“South Australian land buyers have proven remarkably resilient, and we would attribute that to their confidence in the local economy despite higher interest rates and cost of living pressures, growing population and the fact that prices remain relatively affordable compared to many other markets around Australia especially on the eastern seaboard,” said Julian Coppini, chief executive officer of project marketing at Oliver Hume.
Over 630 new residential lots were sold in the Greater Adelaide market over the quarter, down marginally from 663 in the previous quarter and up on the same time last year’s 569.
“Adelaide is one of the most affordable markets in the country, and when you combine that with a resilient local economy, it is going to attract local and interstate buyers. We expect more of the same for the second half of the year,” said George Bougias, head of national research at Oliver Hume.
| Median Prices – South East Queensland March Quarter 2024 | % | $ | |||||
| Municipality | QI. ‘24 | QIV. ‘23 | QI. ‘23 | QoQ | YoY | QoQ | YoY |
| Brisbane | $615,000 | $621,500 | $605,900 | -1.0% | 1.5% | -$6,500 | $9,100 |
| Gold Coast | $864,000 | $738,000 | $715,000 | 17.1% | 20.8% | $126,000 | $149,000 |
| Ipswich | $319,900 | $328,425 | $315,000 | -2.6% | 1.6% | -$8,525 | $4,900 |
| Logan | $332,000 | $320,000 | $312,000 | 3.8% | 6.4% | $12,000 | $20,000 |
| Moreton Bay | $383,000 | $370,000 | $369,000 | 3.5% | 3.8% | $13,000 | $14,000 |
| Redlands | $527,500 | $423,250 | $516,500 | 24.6% | 2.1% | $104,250 | $11,000 |
| South East Queensland | $345,450 | $345,000 | $333,900 | 0.1% | 3.5% | $450 | $11,550 |
Source: Oliver Hume.
Meanwhile in South East Queensland, Ipswich has regained the title of most affordable location for new land buyers, to be $12,000 cheaper on average than the usurped Logan.
Logan was the southeast’s most affordable for land for more than 12 months but growth in demand and prices over the quarter increased average prices by 3.8% to $332,000.
While the median price of land in Ipswich was down 2.6% over the same period to $319,000, which is up 1.6% on the same time 12 months ago.
The Gold Coast’s land prices continued to surge, up 17.1% in the quarter to $864,000, nearly $150,000 more than at the same time in 2023.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty for buyers around interest rates and building prices. The more certainty they can build into the process around building contracts and settlement times the more willing they are to proceed with their purchase,” added Coppini.
“Despite these concerns, the Southeast Queensland market remains one of the most buoyant in Australia with strong population growth and affordability underpinning demand.”
More than 1,500 lots were sold across the quarter, up significantly from the low of 765 lots in the same quarter of 2023.
“Queensland’s economy continues to navigate the impacts of higher interest rates and inflation,” added Bougias.
“Although the unemployment rate has edged higher over the last year, it remains at around historically low levels (4.1% as at March 2024, on a seasonally adjusted basis).”
