Real Estate Institute of Queensland Reports

Real Estate Institute of Queensland Reports

The June quarter report from Real Estate Institute of Queensland has again confirmed the continued slowdown of the Residential Property Market. While results have been mixed, data is showing price gains in some Brisbane suburbs while other surrounding shires have seen declines. REIQ Research Manager Fiona Bergin said the results in Ipswich, Logan and Pine Rivers suggest price growth was still occurring in the June quarter, while in other shires prices seem to have drifted downwards.

"A combination of factors, including persisting uncertainty about interest rates and the outcome of the federal elections, as well as investors returning to equities, largely account for a general flattening in the Brisbane region," she said.

"The Brisbane shire median house price fell 1.7 per cent to $350,000 based on June figures.

"This belies the fact that houses in Brisbane's inner suburbs, within five kilometres of the CBD, as a whole were still performing reasonably well with just under two per cent growth.

"This is demonstrated in the top 10 results with Norman Park, Ascot and Coorparoo coming in the top three positions.

"By comparison, middle suburbs generally slackened off in terms of growth and sales numbers.

"In the Greater Brisbane region generally only the Ipswich local government area saw strong growth with 8.5 per cent over the quarter, no doubt a result of the city's comparatively affordable property prices still attracting investor and first homebuyer interest," Ms Bergin commented.

REIQ research shows that around 45 per cent of all house sales in Ipswich in the June quarter were to investors. Most were local Brisbane buyers but approximately 25 per cent were from New South Wales.

"The declines in some area's median prices in the Greater Brisbane region appear to be a result of higher numbers of prestige dwellings sold in the March quarter when compared with the June quarter and a dominance of low end stock sales in the three months to June.

"Overall, demand from the owner-occupier sector is holding up, which should insulate the market from significant price falls. 

"During the last three years the exceptionally strong property market bucked all the usual seasonal trends but now that we're returning to more normal conditions factors such as the cold weather have impacted on sales activity. This helps account for the slow activity levels in the June quarter.

"Now that we're entering spring, market activity is expected to pick up with strengthening price increases also on the cards. We're seeing evidence of this already with agents reporting stronger activity in the last couple of weeks.

"We think it's unlikely we'll see price growth to the extent that BIS Shrapnel has forecast for Brisbane, however, there is still more steam in the outer shires of Brisbane, in particular in Logan and Ipswich.

"Although we have observed a general slowdown in sales activity throughout Brisbane and the southeast in recent months - this applies largely to the investor market but also to some extent in the owner-occupier market - we are not concerned about a major slump in prices occurring in the coming months or years.

"While the number of sales has declined sharply over the last six months, compared with the previous three years, volumes are still roughly comparable to pre-boom levels.

"There has been such strong activity and price growth over the last three years that it is inconceivable to imagine that it would continue ad infinitum.

"Things are particularly flat at the moment in part because so many people at the height of the boom brought forward their decisions to sell based on expectations of high profits.

"Many of these people may have waited a few more years before selling and as such, the number of listings coming on to the market this year has been relatively sparse.

"Add to these factors, winter is usually a slow time in real estate.

"The other major reason is that investors almost completely exited the Southeast Queensland market late last year and they were largely responsible for the record numbers of sales in the Southeast since the boom began.

1. Real Estate Queensland - Recent Trends
2. REQV Reports
3. Brisbane’s Better Performing Suburbs
4. Brisbane’s Investment Property Market