We are incredibly excited to be releasing our Annual Edition, exploring the intricacies of the Brisbane Market in 2022, the present day market, and the opportunities that exist for buyers, sellers and landlords in 2023.
We are now one year into what is Brisbane’s Golden Decade of Real Estate, as we head towards the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
2022 was certainly a year of contrasts, with housing values in Brisbane rising through the first four months of the year and then falling as the RBA commenced the fastest rate tightening cycle on record.
Before we get into the detail of the market in this report, I feel it is important to provide some perspective on what the Brisbane market has gone through over the last three years. Having worked in the Brisbane Real estate market for 35 years, I have worked through every different part of cycle.
Typically, the residential real estate market goes through cycles that last anywhere from five to seven years. However, what we have seen over the last three years is two fast-paced micro cycles.
In March 2020, the onset of COVID-19, the market came to a halt as panic and uncertainty arose. Contracts were crashed and the market dropped sharply for 30 days.
Then, as interest rates were reduced to an emergency low and government stimulus was introduced, the market was juiced. Inevitably, once the RBA started raising interest rates to try and combat inflation, the market has slowed, values have steadily declined as well as volume of sales.
That’s a rise, fall, rise and fall all within three years, a total anomaly! On top of that, this is our first rate-rise cycle in more than a decade, so it is a shock to the system for many people who haven’t been in the market before.
As I always say, there is no crystal ball we can peer into to see what happens next, but we can see some trends emerging in Brisbane at this early stage, where two different markets will become apparent.
In the rental space, Brisbane leads the nation. Low vacancy rates have afforded landlords the scope to increase rents to cover their rising mortgage.
On the sales side, we can expect a floor to be found once the rates rises stop and buyers have more clarity on what they can afford.
On top of this, almost one third of residential mortgages will be coming off their fixed interest rate of around 2% from the middle of this year, where they will double or even triple.
While our southern capital cities declined faster and quicker than here in Brisbane, we have likely seen the most majority of price reductions happen. However, it may continue to decrease before it plateaus.
If you look at history, these periods of correction do not last long. In 2023, buyers will have more time to shop around while the market takes a breather.
My last thought is to remember that the fast-paced market we saw in 2021 was abnormal, and cannot set a benchmark. The market we find ourselves in now is nothing we haven’t faced before.
In this report, we will delve into many topics, such as why Brisbane will lead the market recovery, the suburbs that experienced the most growth, the booming rental market, and more.
I advise homeowners not to get too caught up in the minutiae of market analysis this year. Enjoy your home and remember, property is a long game. Perspective on the current market conditions is useful while we watch the market recalibrate in 2023.
Most importantly, the two big forces driving the future of the Brisbane market are infrastructure spend and mass interstate and international migration.
We hope that this proves to be useful to you in your property journey. We welcome the opportunity to discuss the current market and how we can best assist you.
