Queensland still the Sunshine State

With fewer than 70 days on average of rainfall a year, Queensland’s moniker of “The Sunshine State” has always been well deserved. But in a year that’s been full of unexpected strain across the globe, Brisbane’s property market also continues to outshine its southern capital city counterparts, recording an envious set of metrics.

At Ray White Scarborough, which forms part of the Ray White Aspley Group, that’s translated to a new all-time record in July, where we helped our clients transact over $45 million in property across our four offices. While north side prices have remained stable since the beginning of the year, the average time taken to sell has been getting shorter, as more and more buyers become motivated to act.

The most recent official data from Core Logic supports what we’re seeing locally. While Melbourne prices have fallen 3.5% over the past four months and Sydney and Perth prices are down around 2%, Brisbane values have declined by just 0.6% overall.

This is great news for all local property owners and those who aspire to own, many of whom may otherwise be concerned by recent media reports predicting price drops. In fact, as interest from investors in Melbourne and Sydney increases amid a second wave of Covid-19 that has fortunately not reached our state, the fundamentals are solid for a strong performance going forward into spring.

While interest rates remain at a historic low, It’s important for buyers to be aware that many banks are struggling to process loan applications currently, with approval times blowing out to several weeks in some cases. In addition, some of the key lenders have introduced stricter lending practices, particularly for those applicants whose wages may be supplemented by the Federal Government’s job keeper payments. Fortunately, our in-house loan broking team has been able to help many of our clients avoid the pitfalls, but as with most things property related, getting organised early is critical.

As always, we’re looking forward to helping you make the very best property decisions. Please get in touch anytime for advice or support.

All the best

Robert Green
Director