Three reasons Brisbane is doing better than Sydney and Melbourne
Brisbane’s ‘fairer’ property prices had sparked migration from southern capitals. Picture: AAP/Ric Frearson.
A WORKING class suburb in Brisbane has beaten the bluechips to pull off the highest growth the state has seen in the past decade.
Underwood in Brisbane’s south has seen a massive 65.6 per cent rise in median house prices between May 2008 and May this year, according to latest figures by property data experts CoreLogic.
It comes as a prominent Sydney property expert declares there is now more optimism for Brisbane than Sydney and Melbourne thanks to the city weathering the unit glut, interstate migration, a fairly valued market and the economy picking up again.
None of the usual bluechips were on the top 10 list which saw Ashgrove come in second (53.4 per cent) followed by Sunnybank (50.7 per cent) which rode a wave of Asian buyer interest in recent years.
SQM Research head Louis Christopher said there was growing evidence that Brisbane had coped better than Sydney and Melbourne with recent housing market woes, prompting fresh optimism.
Brisbane listings figures out yesterday showed the city rose the highest of all the capital cities last month, but unlike Sydney and Melbourne where the effect of a rise in listings was a drop in asking prices, in the River City prices rose almost in defiance.
That, according to Mr Christopher, showed the worst was over for Brisbane, with the city proving it had coped with the oversupply.
“We’re a little more optimistic on Brisbane than Sydney and Melbourne right now,” he told The Courier-Mail.
The comments come as the Reserve Bank yesterday decided to keep its cash rate target on hold at the record low of 1.5 per cent, with no sign that it is likely to move any time this year or even most of next year.
“Generally speaking when you see a big rise in listings, it’s not a good sign as absorption rates are falling like in Sydney and Melbourne, but Brisbane is coming from the perspective that it had its downturn,” Mr Christopher said.
“I think Brisbane is coping better than Melbourne and Sydney right now. I don’t believe prices for freestanding houses are falling in Brisbane like they are in Sydney and Melbourne … Potentially the worst is over for Brisbane.”
SQM Research head Louis Christopher said there was more optimism for Brisbane than Sydney and Melbourne.
Three things were running in the River City’s favour, he said.
“The acceleration in interstate migration from southern states to Queensland” was a key factor, he said.
“That has occurred because the housing market is more fairly valued (in Brisbane) and there is a standard of living gain moving south to north”.
As well, he said, the “Brisbane economy is picking up again so job creation has been improving and just as well because I think one of the barriers moving (from the) south to Queensland has been, up to recently, because of the soft job market.”
“The mining downturn has been over for a solid 18 months so it’s meant that the move has been less riskier for people to do because they have been able to find work making the move.”
Mr Christopher said even better was that housing construction had peaked in Brisbane.
“This is good on the supply front. I think the worst is behind us. We still have an oversupply scenario but it’s not likely to get worse from here. Given the increase in interstate migration, (supply) will now wind down as the year progresses.”
