Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
We trust that the new year will bring fresh opportunities and success to your investment endeavours.
We’re excited to share some key updates and insights about the property market that we believe may be of interest to you.
Rental Vacancy Rates
SQM Research reported that vacancy rates sharply decreased and Capital City asking rents rise by 1.4% over January
- Rental vacancy rate in Brisbane fell from 1.2% to 1.0% in January
- Vacancy rate in Brisbane CBD also declined sharply from 3.2% to 2.5% in January
Asking Rents
Over the past 30 days, asking rent for houses in Brisbane rose by 1.9%, contributing to an annual increase of 9% and reached $718.24 PW.
Unit rents experienced a slight rise of 0.6%, with a substantial 13.8% growth in median rent for units, reaching $568.10 PW. Overall, asking rents for combined dwellings increased by 10.9% over the past 12 months in Brisbane.
Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research said:
“Our rental market update today reveals a sharp decline in rental vacancy rates cross the nation. Most likely the fall in rental vacancies was driven by increased demand from tertiary students following the start of campus semesters for 2024. As well as graduates entering the workforce for the first time. It is a seasonal demand increase we see at the start of each and every year but is most certainly problematic due to the fact the current rental market remains in crisis.
Going forward, our best-case scenario for renters is that the population growth rate slows considerably this year to an increase of about 360,000 people which would likely mean a stabilisation in rents starting from the June quarter. The worse case is population continues to boom at current rates.”
“Despite ongoing cost of living pressures, high interest rates, low consumer sentiment and affordability constraints, homes are still selling. Housing demand has been buoyed by high migration, but also tight rental markets that have probably incentivised renters to transition towards home ownership if they can afford to do so,” Mr Lawless said.
Property Values
CoreLogic Home Value Index recorded in January:
- Brisbane’s housing values continued to rise, with a monthly increase of 1% .
- The median dwelling value in Brisbane increased to $796,818, surpassing Melbourne.
- Compared to the onset of COVID, housing values in Brisbane have risen significantly by 52%.
“Since the commencement of the upswing, capital city house values have surged 11.0% higher while unit values are up 6.9%. It seems that most Australians are willing to pay a higher premium than ever for a detached home,” Mr Lawless said.
Median Days on Market
The time it takes to sell a home continued to trend higher in January, due to the seasonal slowdown in sales activity. The median selling time for Brisbane increased slightly to 22 days from 21 days over the three months to January.
Cash rate
The RBA held the cash rate at 4.35% in February. Market projections anticipate easing of monetary policy, with a 25-basis-point reduction in the cash rate towards the year’s end, and further cuts in 2025.
With inflation showing signs of easing and rate cuts anticipated later this year, consumer sentiment is poised to strengthen, thereby further bolstering housing market activity.
Suburb highlights – Eight Mile Plains
Eight Mile Plains had 62 properties available for rent and 47 properties for sale. Median property prices range from $1,363,500 for houses to $580,000 for units.
Median price for houses-all Bedrooms:
Median price for units have increased substantially by 14.9% over the past year.
Median rent for houses reached $680 per week with annual rental yield of 3.2%.
Median rent for units remains at $580 PW with a rental yield of 5.1%.
Sources:
SQM Research. (2024). Vacancy Rates Sharply Decrease Over January Available from: https://sqmresearch.com.au/uploads/14_2_24_National_Vacancy_Rate_January_2024_FINAL.pdf
CoreLogic. (2024). Hedonic Home Value Index. Available from:
https://www.corelogic.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/21207/CoreLogic-HVI-FEB-2024-FINAL-wCPI.pdf
CoreLogic. (2024). Monthly Housing Chart Pack. Available from: content.corelogic.com.au/l/994732/2024-02-08/212hnm/994732/1707448385uTbZardG/202402_chart_pack.pdf
realestate.com.au.(2024) Explore Suburb Profiles – Eight Mile Plains. Available from: https://www.realestate.com.au/qld/eight-mile-plains-4113/
