By Cam McLellan
Great news for a large portion of our clients with house prices cranking in the Morton Bay area.
I’ve spent most of this month banging on developers doors. While I know nearly all of the major developers, to be honest it’s becoming really painful to find stock in the northern suburbs of Brisbane.
While it might be painful it also excites me because if I’m struggling to find stock this means it’s great times ahead for my portfolio value. The biggest indicator of a supply issue is when on a large scale developers are having problems bringing titled stock to the market fast enough to meet demand. Lots are now selling with title registration dates blown out over six months in some cases.
Let the good times roll!
REIQ give some insight below on the results to date.
Good news has finally started trickling out of the Queensland housing market, with the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) indicating sales activity and house prices in the state are strengthening.
The REIQ June quarter median house price report found the number of sales increased ‘significantly’, with preliminary numbers indicating house sales across the state increased 22% on March quarter figures.
The June 2013 quarter figures were also 40% higher than figures for the June quarter of 2012.
“This is the fourth consecutive quarter of positive news, said REIQ spokesperson Anton Kardash. “The September quarter last year was a particularly strong one for the Queensland market and that momentum has been sustained throughout the following three quarters of sales activity.”
Over the June quarter, REIQ data shows the median house price in Brisbane increased 1.6% to $527,250 and increased 3% over the year ending June. The numbers of house sales in Brisbane also increased compared to the previous quarter and last year – up 32% and 44% respectively.
The median house prices in Logan City, Moreton Bay and Redland City all also increased over the June quarter.
Toowoomba posted yearly median house price growth of 4.5%, the Gold Coast increased by 3.1% and the Sunshine Coast median price grew by 2.3%.
“REIQ estimates of Queensland investor activity also shows that the numbers of investment dwellings financed is tracking at about the historical average,” says Kardash. “No doubt, investors have recognised the strong rental market, including low vacancy rates, and are taking the plunge while first home buyers remain relatively absent.”
The numbers of first home buyers in Queensland remain well below historical averages at just 11% of dwellings financed in June – a decrease of 35% compared to June last year.
