They are the hardest suburbs to crack in Queensland, where homeowners could be sitting on a property goldmine but refuse to leave.
With demand for homes outstripping supply, new data from REA Group shows the suburbs where owners hold onto their properties for the longest, and some are in the state’s hottest markets.
Top of the list is the “high demand” market of Robertson, a suburb in south Brisbane that is known for its ornate homes.
This Robertson house is listed for $2.95 millionMuch like the rest of Brisbane, house prices in Robertson are soaring, with the median house price hitting $973,813 in the March quarter, a rise of 2.5 per cent.
But the data shows that the average homeowner hangs onto their property for 19 years.
Owners in the seaside hamlet of Lucinda (Townsville) and the rural locality of Buccan (Logan-Beaudesert) are also reluctant to leave, holding onto their homes for an average of 18 years, according to the data.
Median house values in Lucinda sit at an affordable to $305,000, but those values have risen by 17.3 per cent over the year on the back of 15 sales.
For Buccan, median house prices are now $713,000 with 29 sales in 12 months.
Rounding off the top five most tightly-held suburbs are Hampden (Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday) and Toorbul (Moreton Bay-North), where homeowners cling to their nest eggs for an average of 17 years.
REA Group director of economic research Cameron Kusher said there are many reasons people hold onto homes.
“For some places like Roberston, which has a strong Asian community, it is that community pull that brings them there and keeps them there,” he said.
In other places like Lucinda, it is a small town but it offers lifestyle and affordability, whereas Buccan, there you are talking about big lifestyle properties.
He added that if someone bought a house when their children were young, ties to schools, sports, family and community would also make it difficult to leave.
“People don’t always want to downsize either,” he said. “For a lot of people, the incentive to downsize just isn’t there.
“But if they are thinking of selling, there is a lot of demand (for properties) right now.”
Across the state, the data shows that homeowners in over 400 Queensland suburbs are staying in their homes for a decade or more.
In Brisbane, owners in 130 suburbs are holding onto their homes for 10 or more years.
Homeowners in Chandler and Ascot, which have a median price hovering around $1.6 million, are keeping their properties an average of 13 years.
And in leafy Paddington, which has a median sales price of $1.127 million, homeowners are staying on for 12 years, according to the data.
On the Gold Coast, the most tightly-held suburbs are Coolangatta and Elanora, where the average hold period is 13 years, while on the Sunshine Coast, Caloundra homeowners are staying 15.5 years, according to the data.
Aerial, Snapper Rocks Coolangatta. Picture: Destination Gold CoastUp north, there are six suburbs in the Cairns region where owners are holding onto properties for an average of 15 years, including the suburbs of Herberton, East Innisfail and Yorkeys Knob.
In the Townsville region, homeowners in Pallarenda, Hyde Park, Garbutt and Aitkenvale refuse to budge, holding onto their homes for 14 years or more.
Just three properties are listed for sale in Pallarenda with one of those already under offer.
In the Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday region, two suburbs have average hold periods north of 15 years – Campwin Beach and Slade Point.
Just a short stroll from the beach and bordering the Cape Pallarenda conservation park, this secluded beach house at Pallarenda is one of only four houses in the suburb on the market. It will go to auction on June 5.While in Central Queensland, owners in Rockhampton City and Depot Hill have the tightest grip, keeping their homes for an average of 13 years.
In the Garden City, owners with homes in Toowoomba City, Placid Hills and Rockville have an average hold period of between 12 and 14 years.
On the flip-side, the suburbs where owners have held onto their homes for the least amount of time can be found in the newer housing developments of South Ripley (Ipswich), Bells Creek (Sunshine Coast), Kirkwood (Gladstone), Birtinya (Sunshine Coast) and Yarrabilba (Logan).
New developments like Yarrabilba are spring up across the southeast corner. This is an artist’s impression of the childcare centre and the rest of the development on Yarrabilba Drive, Yarrabilba. Supplied. Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella said anyone who bought a property 10 to 20 years ago, and held onto it, would likely be in for a decent payday if they chose to sell.
But she said sellers were often deterred from selling by stamp duty and other selling or purchasing costs.
“The cost of selling and buying can be significant, so in some cases, they are renovating instead,” she said.
And those who do sell now, also have to buy in today’s market, and then pay stamp duty and other costs on top of that.
Ms Mercorella said the incentives for retired homeowners to downsize in the federal budget were a good start, with Australians over 60, down from 65 years, now able to make a one-off, post-tax contribution of up to $300,000 per person, or $600,000 for a couple, to their superannuation when they sell, freeing up housing for families.
Ms Mercorella said the initiative was welcomed, but more could be done at a state level to reform, reduce or abolish stamp duty.
The number of Queenslanders leaving Queensland is at the lowest in two decades, and we are seeing expats returning and record interstate migration,” she said.
“So we have this ever increasing demand, and listings have increased, but the supply is not keeping pace.”
TOP 10 MOST TIGHTLY HELD SUBURBS
(Suburb, Median House Price, Average hold)
BRISBANE
Robertson: $975,000; 19 years
Macgregor: $723,800; 16 years
Runcorn: $568,000; 15.2 years
Middle Park: $652,500; 15.1 years
Ferny Grove: $670,000; 14.8 years
McDowall: $712,000; 14.7 years
Taigum: $555,000; 14.6 years
Herston: $830,000; 14.5 years
Coopers Plains: $600,000; 14.4 years
Sheldon: $1,030,000; 14.4 years
CAIRNS REGION
Herberton: $240,000; 15.9 years
Woree: $340,000; 15.7 years
Ravenshoe: $225,000; 15.5 years
Manunda: $346,000; 15.5 years
East Innisfail: $177,500; 15 years
Yorkeys Knob: $430,000; 15 years
Babinda: $195,000; 14.6 years
Tully: $155,000; 13.6 years
Bayview Heights: $447,000; 13.3 years
Mossman: $285,000; 12.6 years
TOWNSVILLE REGION
Lucinda: $305,000; 18.3 years
Pallarenda: $437,000; 16.9 years
Hyde Park: $282,500; 16.5 years
Garbutt: $273,080; 14.5 years
Aitkenvale: $275,000; 14 years
Mundingburra: $367,500; 13.9 years
Queenton: $168,000; 13.8 years
Thuringowa Central: $275,000; 13.8 years
Balgal Beach: $298,000; 13.7 years
North Ward: $695,000; 13.4 years
MACKAY – ISAAC – WHITSUNDAY
Hampden: $495,700; 17.5 years
Slade Point: $310,000; 15.5 years
Campwin Beach: $362,000; 15.3 years
Armstrong Beach: $332,000; 14 years
Mount Pleasant: $372,500; 13.8 years
Proserpine: $274,000; 13.2 years
Collinsville: $80,000; 12.8 years
Sarina: $335,000; 12.7 years
Bowen: $285,000; 12.4 years
North Mackay: $321,500; 12.3 years
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND
Rockhampton City: $167,000; 13.8 years
Depot Hill: $148,000; 13.7 years
Barney Point: $172,500; 12.8 years
Kawana: $290,250; 12.5 years
Gladstone Central: $228,061; 12.5 years
Telina: $325,000; 12.4 years
Berserker: $219,000; 12.4 years
Glenlee: $535,000; 12.3 years
Norman Gardens: $398,750; 12.2 years
Moura: $164,000; 12 years
SUNSHINE COAST
Caloundra: $648,750; 15.5 years
Golden Beach: $712,500; 14.5 years
Battery Hill: $627,000; 13.4 years
Moffat Beach: $970,000; 13.3 years
Coes Creek: $549,000; 13 years
Diddillibah: $835,000; 13 years
Witta: $697,500; 12.6 years
Dicky Beach: $1,085,000; 12.5 years
Castaways Beach: $1,303,132; 12.3 years
Wurtulla: $716,000; 11.9 years
TOOWOOMBA
Toowoomba City: $397,500; 14.1 years
Placid Hills: $425,000; 12.9 years
Rockville: $285,000; 12 years
Harlaxton: $284,000; 11.9 years
Darling Heights: $357,000; 11.7 years
Helidon: $267,500; 11.7 years
Centenary Heights: $390,000; 11.2 years
Withcott: $480,000; 10.5 years
Mount Lofty: $471,000; 10.4 years
Blue Mountain Heights: $660,000; 10.1 years
(Source: REA Market Trends April 2021)
Article Source: www.gladstoneobserver.com.au
