BRISBANE has emerged from the shadows of its southern counterparts, with new figures revealing the tough times are over for the city’s property market as expats and bargain hunters drive a surge in demand.
The Queensland capital recorded the biggest increase in offshore property buyers over the past year — far higher than any other capital city — and many local agents say expats are behind the turnaround.
Realestate.com.au’s Property Outlook report, released today, shows demand for houses in Brisbane rose 6.7 per cent in the past 12 months, while unit demand increased 4.5 per cent as buyers hunted for bargains despite oversupply concerns.
The blue chip suburbs of East Brisbane, Indooroopilly and Paddington were most popular when it came to houses, while the Gold Coast was the most in demand among apartment buyers, with Tugun and Currumbin the highest demand suburbs in the state.
RESIDENTIAL TOWER FIRST IN 30 YEARS
“It looks like Brisbane’s really turning around,” REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said.
“If you have a look at the inner city and the east where demand is up more than 10 per cent, it shows there’s lots of people having a look, and when we see that, we generally start to see a pick-up in pricing.
“All the talk has been about the housing boom being over, but if you look at Brisbane, it’s just warming up again.”
Overall, home prices in Brisbane are up 1 per cent on year, with houses seeing a slight increase and apartments seeing a decline, according to the report.
The city’s median house price increased 2.7 per cent to $525,000 in the past 12 months, while the median apartment price fell 4.1 per cent to $382,500.
HOME FIT FOR HARRY AND MEGHAN
The report noted that Brisbane home prices never increased to the same levels as Sydney and Melbourne and it remained far more affordable.
“With so much spending on infrastructure, the city is now well prepared for population growth which appears to be occurring as jobs growth continues to recover,” the report said.
Offshore interest in Brisbane property has increased dramatically, according to the report.
Demand from property seekers from China for the Brisbane market jumped some 35 per cent in the 12 months to May 2018.
Adcock Prestige principal Jason Adcock recently sold a prestige home to a Brisbane expat living in Hong Kong sight unseen.
Mr Adcock said the buyer wasn’t planning to come back to Brisbane for another 12 months, but did not want to miss out.
“We’re starting to see a lot of that at the moment,” he said.
Mr Adcock said high income earning expats from Hong Kong, the UK and the US were showing increasing interest in buying property in Brisbane and returning home.
“They’re coming back to Brisbane and want to reward themselves with a trophy property,” he said.
Property Pursuit director and buyer’s agent Meighan Hetherington said she had noticed a strong increase in inquiries from expats in the past 18 months.
Ms Hetherington said her expat clients were either looking to create their future home base in Brisbane, or ready to repatriate.
She said changes in the lending landscape had put some pressure on expats to secure property in Brisbane in case standards tightened further.
“Anyone earning a foreign income is pulled into the same lending criteria that is used for foreign buyers, which has meant a lot of pressure on the ability (for expats) to borrow to purchase,” Ms Hetherington said.
“Some clients have taken six or seven months to get finance approval.”
Ms Hetherington said the price differential between Brisbane and southern states was so great that Brisbane had become much more attractive from a value proposition.
She said 80 per cent of her clients bought properties without seeing them in person, relying instead on research and detailed videos provided to them by buyers agents.
Diana Edwards lived as an expat in Hong Kong with her husband and three sons for 17 years before deciding to return home to Brisbane.
Ms Edwards said schooling and lifestyle lured her back to the Queensland capital.
And she’s not alone. She now works with expats as a buyers agent and has a client who wants to move to Brisbane, even though he is originally from Sydney.
“Generally the expat families who request our help to find a home in Brisbane are originally from here or have some connection to Brisbane, but we do receive requests from other clients who are originally from Sydney and Melbourne but are choosing to move to Brisbane due to affordability of property and lifestyle factors,” Ms Edwards said.
“Once you compare property prices in these cities, Brisbane is absolutely the frontrunner in terms of the space it can afford for young families within proximity to the city.”
Universal Buyers Agents director Darren Piper said he too had noticed an increase in overseas expats wanting to move back to Brisbane.
“This is due to a number of reasons including schooling, interest rates and most importantly the Brisbane property market as they don’t want to “miss out”,” Mr Piper said.
“Brisbane is set to soar in the coming years due to the large amount of infrastructure being built.
“Expat buyers are savvy and know that now is the time to buy.”
Mr Piper said expats in high income roles were earning an average annual wage of $175,000, which positioned them well to secure a “significant property” in Brisbane.
He said it was also a matter of timing.
“Certain expats have ‘done their time’ and are simply ready to have their feet back on home turf,” Mr Piper said.
“This on top of the current market conditions is certainly influencing the decision to move back.”
TOP SUBURBS FOR HOUSES IN BRISBANE
1 East Brisbane
2 Indooroopilly
3 Paddington
4 Holland Park
5 Wilston
6 Chandler
7 Windsor
8 Coorparoo
9 Newmarket
10 Toowong
TOP SUBURBS FOR APARTMENTS IN BRISBANE
1 Graceville
2 Mansfield
3 Tarragindi
4 Camp Hill
5 Red Hill
6 Ashgrove
7 Holland Park
8 Tingalpa
9 New Farm
10 Paddington
DEMAND FOR HOUSES AND UNITS NATIONALLY
Property views per listing (last 3 months) Year on year change
National 1165 5.2%
Canberra 766 16.2%
Sydney 1631 -22.5%
Darwin 491 4.7%
Brisbane 1121 5.9%
Adelaide 1723 2.7%
Hobart 4399 38.6%
Melbourne 2185 -6.1%
Perth 678 6.4%
DEMAND FOR HOUSES AND UNITS IN BRISBANE
Property views per listing (last 3 months) Year on year change
Brisbane – East 1127 16.7%
Brisbane – North 1579 6%
Brisbane – South 1637 -2.1%
Brisbane – West 1912 0.1%
Brisbane Inner City 1352 13.7%
(Source: realestate.com.au)