BRISBANE’S HOME-PRICE SURGE FORCES TOUGH DECISIONS FOR LOCALS AND INVESTORS Source: https://www.realestate.com.au/, Caroline Riches, First published Dec 20th, 2024 Property prices in Brisbane are now the most expensive in Australia after Sydney. Locals are seeing their options shrink and investors are becoming more targeted. Angelique Simonet and her husband Shane Boseley count their lucky stars they entered the Brisbane housing market when they did. They bought their family home in The Gap, in Brisbane’s northwest, for $585,000 in September 2019. “It was the only one under $600,000 in the suburb,” Ms Simonet said. “Six months later, they were all above $700,000. Prices just blew up. The median value of houses in The Gap has risen by 16.6% in the 12 months to November to $1,282,500, with units up 12.3% to $933,750. Ms Simonet’s home is now valued at $1.1 million, which she says makes them feel “lucky”. But the price hike is also problematic, she says. “I worry for our kids; they’ll never be able to buy anything. Brisbane home prices have sky-rocketed. Picture: Getty “Plus, our community has changed; many friends have had to leave the area to buy a house. If we sold ours, we couldn’t afford to buy a new one here either. “We’d also have to move further out.” FEAR OF PANIC Hannah Attwood, 46, is renting for the first time in 20 years after separating from her husband and selling their four-bedroom house with a pool in Ipswich. Renting in the western suburb of Bardon with her three teenage children, she worries about re-entering a heated market. “Yes, renting is really expensive, but to have everything invested in a mortgage that I can barely afford… for me, is not realistic,” she said. She’s determined not to give into panic, like she’s seen so many others do in the city. “People talk about going to auctions where buyers are paying way over the asking price in cash. I’ve heard so many people say,‘if I don’t get in now, I’ll never get in’. “And I’ve seen a lot of friends make really rash purchases because of that fear.” STARTLING GROWTH Home prices in Brisbane rose 12.6% in the year to November, reaching a median value of $868,000.This increase is behind only Perth (18.7%) and Adelaide (14.6%). National annual price growth was 5.5%. In terms of median value, only Sydney ($1.112 million) is more expensive, with the Queensland capital now more costly than Canberra ($843,000), Melbourne ($792,000), Adelaide ($795,000) and Perth ($778,000). “Prices in Brisbane went up close to 80% over the past five years, and it continues to be one of the strongest performing markets,” said senior PropTrack economist Eleanor Creagh. “Adelaide and Perth are ahead, but conditions in Brisbane remain relatively strong.” Like Perth and Adelaide, the Brisbane rental market has had vacancy rates below 1% for over three years. The rates have eased slightly, with Brisbane at 1.2%, Perth at 1.1% and Adelaide at 1%. And similarly, a lack of housing stock is partly to blame. The Queensland government has responded with its 2024 ‘Homes for Opening Lines 5 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 06, ISSUE 12
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