You may have heard or seen that the nation's property market is performing at behaving in ways not seen in decades. Dwindling stock levels, cheap access to financial services, and government incentives have driven the market to be an exceptionally competitive one for buyers, driving property prices upwards in many cases.
One factor contributing to the state of the market is something that has only been strengthened by the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing along the upward trajectory even before the global crisis. Whether it be Australia's strong and successful response to the pandemic, Queensland in particular, or the attractive lifestyle each city has to offer, CASHED-UP expats, offshore buyers and interstate migrators are seemingly desperate to call Queensland home.
New data from realestate.com.au has shown that property inquiry in Australia from countries such as the USA and Hong Kong has jumped as high as 57% year-on-year in 2020, with a keen interest on beach and waterfront suburbs. Fuelled by looming lockdowns, border closures, and a blockbuster presidential election, demand for Queensland’s luxuriously relaxed lifestyle has never been higher despite the chaos experienced elsewhere.
QLD's current state of affairs in high demand compared to those of other countries around the world.
It’s not hard to hazard a guess at which of Queensland’s beach and waterfront suburbs are the most popular for potential purchasers across the country, and indeed the world.
The most searched region of 2020 was the Gold Coast, with Surfers Paradise, Broachbeach and Burleigh Heads ranking highest for investment interest. At the other end, Noosa Heads and Mooloolaba took the top spots of foreign property searches in the Sunshine Coast.
In our hometown of Brisbane, New Farm proved to be the most sought-after property hotspot, as the volume of new listings in the last two months continues to dwindle down nearly 50% compared to the previous 60 days in the lead up to Christmas 2020 (CoreLogic, 2021). Low stock, coupled with the high demand from interstate buyers, has also lead to the reduced time on market, down circa 4% over the past four months.
To the inner-west, Indooroopilly was also of extreme interest according to overseas searches. Chief Economist at realestate.com.au Nerida Conisbee said expats wanting to return home or offshore buyers looking to park their money somewhere safe were turning to Queensland, with the prestige property market of particular interest. Nerida also went on to explain the contributing factors to Queensland’s demand, calling on our “COVID free environment” and “beautiful beaches and weather.”
175 Fernberg Rd in Paddington marketed by Tim Douglas of Place Paddington sold for $4.5m to an Aussie expat
Considering Queensland accounts for 88% of all interstate migration activity from other states, with New South Wales and Victoria going backwards, it’s no wonder our market is behaving this way (ABS, 2021). Time on market for properties launching in Brisbane is also on a steep downward slope according to CoreLogic, yet another indication that competition for our property in the sunshine state is fierce. Given the flurry of continued demand for Queensland real estate, it’s truly a seller’s market.
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