Brisbane poised to deliver on its underlying promise – Terry Ryder – Hotspotting

Terry Ryder, in a recent report, has said that 2018 is likely to be the year in which Brisbane delivers on the potential many analysts have been expecting.

For the past several years, many commentators have forecast strong price growth in the Brisbane property market. But to date the city has delivered little overall, although some individual precincts have had short bursts of good growth.

Brisbane, for all its solid qualities, has previously lacked the momentum that comes from a strong underlying economy, major population growth and big investment in facilities, especially transport links.

But things are changing. Many of the stars that Brisbane needs to fall into alignment now seem to be doing so.

A combination of positive factors is driving interest in the Brisbane housing market, although the inner-city unit market is tempered by oversupply concerns.

The Queensland economy is showing increasing signs of improvement, having led the nation on jobs creation in 2017.

And the resources sector, a big element in the state economy, is also showing increasing signs of revival.

The state is now the national leader on net gains in population from interstate migration, a feature that has traditionally made Queensland strong but which has been lacking in recent years.

Against this background, the Brisbane property market is attracting growing interest from investors disenchanted by the prices and yields in Sydney and Melbourne.

While the best time to buy in the two biggest cities has well and truly passed, Brisbane appeals as a city that offers great value. Its prices are roughly half those in Sydney and its rental yields are much higher. And dual living properties are showing rental yields at better than twice those in Sydney.

A number of surveys have found that Brisbane is overwhelmingly the No.1 choice for property investors who plan to buy in the near future.

Hotspotting analysis of sales activity shows some the following in the greater Brisbane metropolitan area:

·       Ipswich City (No. 1 in Brisbane’s Top 5 report), in the south-western precinct is rising strongly and many suburbs are now delivering good price growth

·       Moreton Bay in the north – affordability, infrastructure and proximity to jobs nodes are key factors

·       Logan City, which has been a market leader in the past two years, has faded a little, having slipped down to No.4 on the Top 5 in Brisbane