Note; our commentary is specifically focused on the residential market within 15km radius of the Brisbane CBD.

ON-THE GROUND OBSERVATIONS

• Since the 22nd of January, buyer demand has been very strong and the momentum we were seeing late last year has continued into 2024 across most price points and asset types
• Buyers are very astute and properties that are over-priced are not selling
• The majority of free-standing houses coming to market between $1m – $1.5m are sold within the first week as both investors, up-sizers and first home buyers compete. Most well presented properties in this range are receiving offers from 7-10 parties
• Townhouses in the 6-7km radius from the CBD are very popular and are now very much seen as the alternative to a low-maintenance, freestanding house. This also correlates with the younger generations often looking for low maintenance housing solutions
• We believe the future supply of townhouses will remain low as most developers are building apartments to maximize their ROI. This should result in increased values for quality townhouses in the years ahead
• The down-sizer/quality 3 bedroom apartment market is extremely popular with one property in Taringa having in excess of 100 groups attend the first two opens and 19 bidders at auction. The demand for down-sizer/prestige apartments is growing rapidly
• Quality 2 bedroom apartments are still in strong demand, primarily due to affordability and housing shortage. This seems to be the strongest and most consistent part of the market at present with solid growth experienced over the past 12 months for quality apartments in small boutique complexes
• Investors have returned in strong numbers with confidence that the peak of interest rates are behind us
• Yields for investment are lower than historical averages even off the back of significant increases in rents over the past 24 months. Gross yields for houses are approximately 3.0-3.5% gross and units are 3.5% – 4.0% gross in the areas that we specialise (inner to middle ring suburbs). These are roughly 1% below long term averages
• The prestige market is strengthening. 2023 saw over 114 properties transact north of $5m whereas 2022 there were only 82. Already in 2024 we have seen 14 transactions north of $5m
• Indooroopilly, Camp Hill, Paddington and Tarragindi, just to note a few, have seen new record sales with $9.25m, $5.5m, $5.8m and $3.75m respectively. Tarragindi’s sale eclipsed the former record by $250,000
• Construction prices seem to have settled and buyers are now more willing to renovate. This has changed from the past 3 years where demand for renovators was very low
• Stock levels are still lower than expected and speaking with the agents, there doesn’t seem to be any likely change in the near future which will result in upward pressure on prices

RENTAL INSIGHTS

• Brisbane’s vacancy rate moved just above 1% in December for the first time in almost 2 years however is back down to 1% for January
• January saw a significant influx of rental applicants resulting in most properties renting above list prices
• PMC rentals had an average increase in rental prices of 13.4% over the past 12 months
• Late last year houses in excess of $1,200 were slow moving however since the start of the year have been renting very quickly
• Currently, the most competitive rental properties are renovated units
• The most competitive rental price is still houses and units sub $750pw 

Note; our commentary is specifically focused on the Northern Beaches and North Shore markets that we specialise in.

ON-THE GROUND OBSERVATIONS

• Buyer enquiry and inspection numbers are strong across the board at the moment, however actual engagement on properties i.e.. Contracts issued, offers etc is not reflective of that, especially on lower graded properties
• There has definitely been a notable increase in the amount of listings, however not as much as everyone was hoping for, particularly quality stock
  
• We have witnessed a number of listings that were for sale off market pre-Christmas, have now sold (old stock is shifting) at a price in-excess of where interest levels were pre-Christmas
• While we feel like it’s largely a balanced market, we are still witnessing some strong results across all price brackets
• Entry level free standing houses remain competitive
• Budgets between $2.2 – 2.5M on the Northern Beaches are tough with a large buyer pool competing for the same stock
• The “Horse shoe” from Balgowlah, Fairlight, Manly and around to Freshwater and Curl Curl continue to experience strong demand for housing across all price points
• The upper Northern Beaches market is a bit more patchy with average days on market extending beyond the Southern Beaches market
• The Lower North Shore has seen strong results in the downsizer unit market, especially for properties priced below $4M
• The housing market for properties above $5M is performing very well and with new/renovated homes often achieving premiums
• If interest rate cuts materialise in the 2nd half of the year, we expect to see upward pressure on prices, albeit at a moderate rate
• For now the North Shore and Northern Beaches markets appear to be well balanced
• There have been a couple of huge results for houses over the past week with a Soldiers Ave house in Freshwater selling for circa $6.7M, and a house on Ocean St, Manly selling for high $9M’s, both significantly above our assessment of value

RENTAL INSIGHTS

• Rental demand has continued to outstrip supply on the Northern Beaches
  
• Well priced properties are typically only lasting one open for inspection
  
• Housing sub $1,600/week is experiencing fierce competition