Lawless lowdown

After a gradual recovery in the Brisbane property market since June 2012 it finally looks like it's time for Brisbane's star too shine. "Brisbane's time is just around the corner" with property sales up and a definite increase in investor enquiry, explained Tim Lawless, RPData's National Research Director, at an industry event last Friday.

His finger is tightly on the pulse of the national property market so his insights are valuable in seeing where Brisbane currently fits into the national scheme-of-things. He chose his words carefully as he explained the various facets that currently point to a tangible increase in Brisbane as attractive property location.

>> No bubble. The Brisbane property market is diverse and the current rate of growth is sustainable, so these are key factors in ensuring that all the  'bubble-speculation' - which seems to raise its head each few weeks - won't affect Brisbane. My views on what I'd call a 'bubble media frenzy' are well-known to my readers (see Market News or my blog from September 26 this year), so it's needless to say that I welcomed his comments and reasoning.

>> Brisbane is 'affordable' compared to Melbourne & Sydney. 69% of Queensland properties are currently sold to owner occupiers (31% to investors), while the investor sales rates are higher in the other two cities. It's also a matter of simply mathematics - with a median house price of over $700,000 in Sydney it puts house ownership out of the reach of many in the harbour city, while Brisbane remains relatively 'affordable'. This does, however, vary depending on the actual suburb or area within the cities.

>> Investors leading the way. The winds are blowing favourably for investors in the River City and we've also recorded a definite increase in investor activity in the CBD over the last months. "Investors are starting to see opportunities in Brisbane", according to Tim Lawless, and with vacancy rates at a relatively low 2.1% and solid gross yield for houses (4.6%) and units (5.6%), the scenario is set for further action by investors.

Not only Lawless, but two other renown property experts have both commented* over the last few weeks on Brisbane's increasing attraction for investors.

"The push by southern investors into Brisbane is reportedly underway because of its cheaper offerings", stated Jonathan Chancellor, while Terry Ryder (never one to mince his words) wrote two days' ago: "I have no doubt that Brisbane will be the big improver among the capital city markets in 2014. And, in terms of the states and territories, Queensland is where investors should be concentrating."

With interstate buyer interest in the CBD on the rise - as well as from locals - it's a continuing signal that buoyancy is returning to the Brisbane CBD property market and expected to gain in momentum in 2014.

 

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