The Brisbane property market is predicted to outgrow all other capital cities in the next 24 months, reports Domain Group in their latest Property Price Forecast.

Brisbane house prices are predicted to rise 4% in 2019, followed by a further 5% growth in 2020. There is great news for the Brisbane apartment market as well, with 6% growth expected by 2020.

Domain economist Trent Wiltshire says Brisbane is set to lead the charge for 2019 where stability across the nation is expected.  

“After modest price growth in recent years, we expect that Brisbane houses will grow faster than most other markets over the next couple of years,” Mr Wiltshire said.

“Our forecast for relatively strong house price growth in Brisbane is underpinned by a pick-up in population growth and declining unemployment.”

Suncorp CEO Banking and Wealth Manager David Carter echoed the positive outlook for Brisbane when speaking to Domain.

“It’s been pleasing to see Brisbane’s property market remain relatively resilient over the past 18 months and I believe we will continue to experience the same positive conditions as we head into 2019,” he said.

“Population growth in the south-east should continue to support demand for homes and units as interstate migration to Queensland continues. Brisbane property prices provide an attractive option for those moving interstate,” said Mr Carter.

With regards to units, Mr Carter indicated CBD is the place to be.

“Good quality inner-city units appear to be in demand, particularly with people seeking an inner-city lifestyle,” he said.

Hannah Schuhmann says this is great news on the back of the constant doom and gloom the media is reporting about the Sydney and Melbourne property markets. This forecast goes to show that Brisbane is a great option for those looking to invest; comparatively safe with potential growth in the near future. 

Minutes from the latest Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board meeting have been released this week and St George bank is seeing “slivers of optimism,” with the driving force for the positivity coming from the labour market.

Better-than-expected figures for the labour market saw the RBA revise their predictions for unemployment to drop to 4.75% by 2020. Business investment was another positive talking point, suggesting business investment could “could turn out to be stronger than currently expected.”

With regards to the official cash rates, St George “expect that the RBA will stay on the sidelines, leaving the cash rate on hold this year and next year.” The interest rate has been at its current level of 1.5% for 26 meetings in a row, since August 2016.

Concerns raised by the board related to; the domestic economy with household debt levels, consumer spending, slow income growth rates, and the housing market. Global issues include trade tensions and growth was expected to “ease a little” but stay “above potential in 2019.”

Based on the latesteconomic outlook from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), abc.net.au reports that interest rates could rise in the next two years, but only if wage growth sees a rise. OECD chief economist Laurence Boone told the ABC "the Australian economy is doing well." 

Destination Brisbane Consortium has released an updated flythrough of the Queen’s Wharf Development.

Brisbanedevelopment.com reports the new video shows the development, which is still subject to approvals, remains largely the same as the original concept video in 2014, but with some cosmetic changes to the atrium design and hotel towers, and the bridge which now shows a more prominent mast structure. Waterline Park, which is to be located below the Riverside Expressway looks to have gained more space for the planned beach.

Updates from the latest Queens Wharf October newsletter include: 

• Interestingly, a World War II bomb shelter on William Street may be transformed into a bar/dining establishment as part of the development pending further assessment. This shelter is one of 21 that still remain within the city.
•  Piling for the Mangrove Walk is around 80% complete
• A colourful mural has been completed on the underside of the Riverside Expressway; this is ahead of a makeover that will transform the disused waterfront area.

Mangrove Walk and Waterline Park are expected to open in mid-late 2019, with the Queens Wharf development as a whole expected to commence opening in 2022.

The $3.6 billion development will cover 26 hectares across land and water which includes a casino, hotels, dining, entertainment and parklands.

Brisbanetimes.com.au has reported that by 2026, over $17 billion worth of new infrastructure is expected to be delivered to the city, which will include over 13 hectare of open space across five precincts, plus additional space that will be added as part of the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project.

View the November 2018 flythrough here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMquMZPXhgU&feature=youtu.be 

Brisbanedevelopment.com has produced a side-by-side visual to compare the 2014 to the 2018 flythrough. https://brisbanedevelopment.com/updated-queens-wharf-flythrough-released-by-destination-brisbane/

Accomplished financial commenter, Peter Switzer has once again given us reason to be optimistic about our economic future.  

On the back of the latest Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting, RBA Governor Dr. Phil Lowe has a positive tune about what’s to come, said Mr Switzer. Here’s why:

•  Jobless rate has dropped 0.6% since April to 5%.
•  Job advertisements have increased by 3.6% compared to 12 months ago.
•  The Australian dollar has reduced to 72 US cents, dropping by 10 cents in the past year.
•  The NAB business conditions index hit a 3-month high in September, rising by 1 point.
•  The weekly ANZ consumer confidence index is above long-term average, sitting at 116.8.
•  Expansion in manufacturing is the longest since 2005.
•   International tourism visitor numbers hit a record high of 8.4 million for the year to June 2018, a 6% increase.
•  AiGroup indicated services activity has expanded for 20 months in a row, the longest stretch since March 2008. The service sector gauge dropped slightly to 51.1, but anything of 50 point shows expansion.
•  Retail trade grew by 0.2% in September, following a 0.3% rise in August. Spending growth for the year was steady at 3.7%.
• Annual imports from China to Australia are at record high levels.
• Non-bank financial intermediary loans and advances grew by 11.4% to the 12 months to September which is the strongest yearly growth in 11 years.

Mr Switzer has indicated the factors that are working negatively on the economy include; credit growth which is the slowest in 4.5 years, petrol prices, national property prices, a drop of new vehicle purchases, personal credit was down 1.5% over the year, and building approvals are down year on year.

Weighing up the positives versus negatives, Mr Switzer has indicated that Dr Lowe and RBA team are on the right track and while positivity is there….the doom and gloom that some are reporting is unwarranted. 

In the September quarter, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by only 0.4% which could indicate the official cash rate could remain steady for a little longer, reports St George in their latest Data Snapshot.

With regards to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the figures that are most relevant are the underlying inflation numbers; the trimmed mean and weighted median numbers. These average of these two measures only rose by 0.3% for the quarter which is the smallest increase since the 2016 March quarter.

The annual rate of underlying inflation dropped to 1.7% in the September quarter, down from 1.8% in the June quarter. This is the lowest pace in the past eighteen months.

The RBA has a target underlying inflation range of between 2-3% per annum, and the latest results show inflation remains low (1.7% for September quarter). St George Senior Economist, Jo Horton believes this target band will not be reached in the medium term which will allow the RBA to keep interest rates at bay. 

“Inflation is expected to remains subdued due to ongoing spare capacity in the labour market, slow wage growth and the competition in the retail sector. Low inflation will allow the RBA to leave interest rates unchanged for an extended period.”

Affecting the CPI was prices for child care which have dropped by 11.8% and telecommunications equipment and services which dropped by 1.5%. The Government’s new Child Care Subsidy scheme was introduced in this quarter which resulted in child care prices being driven down.

Drivers for price increases for the quarter were international holiday travel & accommodation (4.3%) which were partly due to seasonal price increases for peak season, domestic holiday travel & accommodation (2.4%), tobacco (1.8%) which was the result federal government excise tax for tobacco, and automotive fuel (1.4%) which was the result of higher oil prices.

For the year to September high price increases were recorded for:

• Automotive fuel (20.8%)
• Tobacco (14.0%)
• Postal services (10.6%)
• Domestic holiday travel & accommodation (7.4%).

Offsetting the above was declines in:

• Audio, visual & computing equipment (-9.0%)
• Childcare (-8.5%). 

Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans told the Property Observer in 2017 that too thinks rate will remain steady.  

"We remain comfortable with our view that rates will remain on hold for the remainder of 2017 and 2018," said Mr. Evans.