Property in 2019: Experts reveal what to expect for the Qld market

IT will be remembered as the year Brisbane outshone the nation’s two biggest housing markets and defied a property downturn gripping other states.

Home values in 2018 in the Queensland capital rose a steady 0.3 per cent at a time when they fell 5.8 per cent in Melbourne and 8.1 per cent in Sydney — the biggest annual decline in 35 years, according to CoreLogic.

But the best could be yet to come.

Some of the industry’s top heavyweights have shared their predictions for the state’s housing market in 2019 exclusively with The Courier-Mail — and the forecast is sunny.

he consensus is that downsizers from Sydney and Melbourne will continue to cash out and migrate north in search of affordability, lifestyle and bang for their buck.

Growth suburbs in Brisbane’s east, Ipswich and the Gold and Sunshine coasts will be regions to watch in the new year, according to the experts.

The state’s infrastructure pipeline, couple with strong interstate migration and improving jobs growth, will help the market, although lending restrictions and uncertainty around the federal election will continue to impact borrowers.

A number of Brisbane properties are also tipped to surpass the $10 million mark if they can find buyers in 2019, with the prestige market expected to continue to outperform.

All in all, a good year ahead indeed.

r Warland believes the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, as well as Ipswich and certain East Brisbane suburbs, will be the regions to watch in 2019.

“If you take a look at Brisbane markets where there’s high infrastructure such as the growth suburbs of Murarrie and Tingalpa, you can access the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, airport and city all within 30 to 40 minutes,” Mr Warland said.

He said many homeowners were sitting tight, but rental occupancy rates were high, making investment properties “still a solid option”.

“This all ties in to the finance regulations, which have changed in our market, and how buyers realign with their capacity to obtain money,” Mr Warland said.

“When we take a look at Queensland overall, Cairns has a lot of cranes up at the moment, Townsville is steady because it’s always had the infrastructure, the Sunshine Coast has had really good numbers of sales which is creating a shortage of stock, Brisbane has hot markets in the north and south of the city depending on who you are in the market and what you need, and the Gold Coast fared very well after the Commonwealth Games, so we’re really looking forward to the big auctions there in January, which will be an indicator of people’s interest.”

Mr Hackett believes Brisbane is poised for opportunity in 2019.

“With property prices sky high in Sydney and Melbourne, we sit in the perfect position to capitalise on that, as the southern markets look north for something more affordable,” Mr Hackett said.

“We’re 90 per cent cheaper than Sydney, 43 per cent cheaper than Melbourne.

“Buyers are now moving to Queensland to match employment opportunities, affordability and liveability in one location.”

Mr Hackett said he expected interstate migration to continue to increase in 2019 and the market to be buoyed by the major infrastructure spend underway in Brisbane.

“Over 130 major projects are on the cards, with a total spend of more than $55 billion — the highest in recent history,” he said.

John Fitzgerald, author of ‘7 Steps to Wealth’:

History proves that when Sydney tanks, the pendulum swings to the Gold Coast, according to Mr Fitzgerald.

He expects the city’s median house price (currently $655,000) to jump 50 per cent in the next three years.

“The great northern migration is back on, with Sydneysiders leaving in droves and moving north,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“In 2016-17, the Gold Coast added another 7000 residents courtesy of internal migration according to the Bureau of Statistics, picking up a healthy portion of the 15,160 people that fled NSW at the height of Sydney’s property boom.

“The Coast is unique in that it has the highest population growth in the country, while having a land supply that will be fully exhausted in this property cycle.”

Mr Fitzgerald said land on the Gold Coast was the “golden egg” for investors because it was ripe for growth.

Source: courier mail