Brisbane’s property market might not match the sky-high prices seen in Sydney and Melbourne, but as owners and investors flock to the sunshine state amid a sea-change shift effect, some of the city’s most affluent streets are being put on the map.
Brisbane’s house prices saw the steepest annual climb in 13 years in 2021, as the city’s property market came to grips with relentless Covid-19-induced demand for property.
And even as growth slowed in other parts of Australia, Brisbane’s housing market continued to perform strongly in the first half of 2022.
Even though prices have now begun to fall from their peak, the market has done so with a significant lag from the price drops across the rest of Australia.
And unlike in Sydney and Melbourne, prices are still far higher across the city than just 12 months ago.
As of November, the median price for houses in Brisbane stood at $817,684, which is a 2.2% decline month-on-month and a 6.2% decline quarter-on-quarter.
But year-on-year, Brisbane’s house prices are 8% higher today.
Why is the market so robust, you might ask?
Well, there has been significant internal migration (particularly northwards from Victoria and NSW) into Queensland with Australians looking for more affordable property in lifestyle suburbs.
And the property market is prosperous as a result.
Interstate migration and the sea and tree-change effect are particularly being felt in Noosa, where high sales volumes and the highest price gains in Queensland, with the region’s median house price, has risen yet another 18.9% over the past year to a new $2.2 million median.
The most expensive streets in Brisbane
| Rank | Street | Suburb | Top Sale (2022) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Musgrave Road | Robertson | $17.5M |
| 2 | Virginia Avenue | Hawthorne | $15M |
| 3 | Main Beach Parade | Main Beach | $9.8M |
| 4 | Laidlaw Parade | East Brisbane | $6.3M |
| 5 | Leura Terrace | Hawthorne | $5.95M |
| 6 | Chester Street | Teneriffe | $5.9M |
| 7 | Dewar Terrace | Corinda | $5.8M |
| 8 | Oxlade Drive | New Farm | $5.52M |
| 9 | Dickson Terrace | Hamilton | $4.9M |
| 10 | Howard Street | Paddington | $4.5M |
The Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast are other areas where property prices have been particularly strong, with recorded sales in excess of $10 million.
Back in the city, the appetite for luxury real estate also remains strong.
A stunning, large-scale Queensland property sitting on a hectare of land has broken records to become Brisbane’s highest residential sale for 2022 after selling for a whopping $17.25 million to a developer after the owners, who called the 673 Musgrave Road pad home for 34 years, finally decided to sell.
Meanwhile, 154 Virginia Avenue in Hawthorne, a riverfront estate on 2,110sqm of land, sold for $15 million in February this year.
Meanwhile, Laidlaw Parade in East Brisbane recorded a $6.3 million sale, followed by Leura Terrace in Hawthorne with $5.95 million.
Interestingly, the remainder of the most expensive streets in Brisbane are scattered around various suburbs throughout the city, although each of the city’s most prestigious suburbs – Teneriffe, New Farm, and Hamilton – also made the list.
Brisbane’s property market outlook for 2023
Currently, the team at Metropole’s Brisbane office is finding property investor activity to be strong, particularly for houses, and not only coming from locals but from interstate investors who see a strong upside in Brisbane property prices as well as favourable rental returns.
However, there is not one Queensland property market, nor one southeast Queensland property market, and different locations are performing differently and are likely to continue to do so.
Houses remain a firm favourite of prospective home hunters, with demand rising post-lockdown and it remains significantly elevated compared to last year.
However, apartment demand has been sliding and, in general, apartments in Queensland are a higher-risk investment than houses, particularly due to a high supply of apartments that are unsuitable for families or owner-occupiers.
Brisbane is likely to be one of the best-performing property markets over 2023 and beyond, but while some locations in Brisbane have strong growth potential, the right properties in these locations will make great long-term investments, and certain submarkets should be avoided like the plague.
In fact, Westpac Bank recently updated its property forecasts, with Brisbane prices tipped to surge 20 percent between 2022 and 2023, meaning Brisbane is likely to be one of the best-performing property markets over the next few years.
And our Metropole Brisbane team has noticed a significant increase in local consumer confidence with many more homebuyers and investors showing interest in a property.
At the same time we are getting more inquiries from interstate investors there we have for many, many years.
