SOUTHEAST Queensland’s world-class beaches are driving a surge in home prices in the state’s coastal property markets, as Brisbane and the Gold Coast break house price records.
New quarterly figures from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland reveal Noosa was the state’s top performing market in the three months to September, recording annual house price growth of nearly 10 percent.
Over the past five years, Noosa’s median house price has jumped by more than 40 percent — driven by a boost in tourism numbers.
The REIQ’s latest Queensland Market Monitor shows house prices in the Sunshine Coast statistical division grew 22 percent over the September quarter, from $557,500 in June to $570,000.
The Gold Coast also performed strongly, hitting a new house price record of $606,000, while the annual median house price in Brisbane reached a new record high of $660,000 — almost 30 percent greater than it was five years ago.
But it’s a different story for Brisbane’s unit market, with prices falling 2.6 percent over the past year as the inner-city continues to suffer from an apartment glut.
The new annual median unit price is $440,750 — down from $452,500 a year ago.
“With more supply expected online over the next 12 months, we expect this market will not firm up until mid-2019 at the earliest,” the report said.
Ms Mercorella said the coastal markets had helped drive overall growth in the state’s property market over the past 12 months, with more than 58,000 houses sold and median house price growth of 2.4 percent.
“Tourism is one of the largest contributors to Queensland’s gross state product, with almost eight percent of GSP coming from tourism,” Ms Mercorella said.
“This is roughly $25 billion in the year to June 2016, which means when that sector grows, it offers employment opportunities and this attracts workers who need somewhere to live.”
The number of cruise ship visits to the state has nearly doubled over the past four years.
Originally Published: http://www.news.com.au
