Brisbane's rental market
Posted by admin on 17 January 2012
Brisbane’s tenants are out home-hunting in big numbers with a very busy start to the year. Bees Nees Manager, Annie von Rudzinski says real estate agents are “flat-strap”, reporting big crowds at many rental inspections and that’ll lead to solid rent increases on many homes.
It’s good news for Brisbane landlords after new Residential Tenancies Authority’s latest stats showed rents remained flat during the second half of 2011.
“Across Brisbane we had a 4% rise in rents last year but all of that was in the first half of 2011. Landlords have been patient and this busy start to 2012 is really encouraging,” Ms von Rudzinski said. “At the moment it’s not uncommon for more than a dozen tenants to arrive at each rental inspection. The supply of rental homes has not grown much at all but we’re still getting new tenants coming to Brisbane,” she said.
“Across Brisbane the total rental pool grew by just 1,131 properties (less than 1%) in the December quarter. In the inner-city suburbs we now have less rental homes to offer tenants than we did 3 months ago, so it’s inevitable rents will rise in that sort of market.”
December’s RTA stats showed no increase in rents since the June quarter. A 2 bedroom Brisbane apartment remained at $380 per week.
Tags: Brisbane rental properties, Brisbane rents, median rents Brisbane, rental prices Brisbane, rental supply Brisbane, Residential Tenancies Authority
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 19 December 2011
Like a kid who can’t wait to grow up, inner-Brisbane’s property owners are wishing the days away to the start of a fresh year. The market soothsayers are surprisingly quiet about the prospects for 2012 – and probably because 2011 caught so many of them out. Here’s a quick recap:
1. Home prices in inner-Brisbane can drop when the experts least expect. After a mini-recovery in 2010 median prices dipped further this year (“officially” around 6-7% but with plenty of variation between suburbs and price brackets).
2. Home owners will choose to stay put. During 2011 sales volumes in most inner-Brisbane suburbs dropped to their lowest in over a decade, with many not willing to sell for less. Just 12 months ago it seemed likely we’d have a busier market, with good job security giving buyers confidence to upgrade and move. Few predicted the economic uncertainties of 2011 (or the daily in-your-face negativity of that bloke on the Today Show amongst others).
3. A tight supply of rental homes has not led to strong rises in rents (yet). Rents grew 4% in the June quarter but have otherwise been fairly flat in Brisbane’s inner-suburbs this year. Remember the post-floods hysteria with predictions of rent blow-outs? This subdued market hasn’t surprised us – most landlords are not wealthy and become very cautious with rent increases and potential vacancies when there’s economic uncertainty.
4. We can use our money wisely. Many of us are taking advantage of interest rate cuts to pay down debt, building equity without price growth.
So bring it on 2012, we’re ready for you. Inner-Brisbane’s home-owners have had a tough year but we’re in good shape for anything you can throw at us!
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, Brisbane's sales market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 14 October 2011
New data on Brisbane’s rental housing market shows tenants are not moving as often, staying longer in their homes to save money. And it seems landlords are keeping a lid on rent rises to keep them there. Bees Nees’ Annie von Rudzinski says the Residential Tenancies Authority’s latest stats showed the turnover of tenancies is lower than during 2010.
“Tenants know that moving house is expensive and if their rent increases are fair they’ll stay put. The RTA stats show that over the past year Brisbane’s median rents rose just 4% and that’s been accepted by the market,” Ms von Rudzinski said. “Landlords have become more cautious too and many are reluctant to have an empty property. We saw the same conservatism during the GFC in 2008 and this means tenants currently have less pressure on them,” she said.
But the supply of rental homes is rising slowly and without new construction rents will increase again. “Across Brisbane the total rental pool grew by just 1,253 properties in the September quarter. That’s half the number we added in the June quarter – we’re just not bringing a lot of new rental housing onto the market.”
September’s RTA stats showed no increase in rents on the June quarter. A 3 bedroom Brisbane house rent remained at $390 per week while a 2 bedroom apartment is $380.
Tags: Brisbane housing supply, Brisbane property manager, Brisbane rents, Brisbane tenants, median rents Brisbane, property management Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 21 July 2011
We like to use the 2 bed apartment rents as our benchmark and across inner-Brisbane they rose 4% in the 3 months to June 30th. Across wider Brisbane City they rose just 1% and there’s no doubt some pockets are witnessing stronger demand than others. Rents in Woolloongabba and Dutton Park area rose a very strong $40/week to $440, but local 3 bedroom houses dipped $20. So while the trend is up the market is still finding its way. There’s still some catch up on neighbouring suburbs happening and tenants are recognising the good value the suburb offers.
Note: RTA stats quoted here cover all of postcode 4102 including Woollongabba, Buranda and Dutton Park
If you would like a rental appraisal for your property just give our head of Property Management – Annie von Rudzinksi a call on 07 3214 6899.
For median rent information visit www.whatrentmyhome.com.au
Tags: apartments for rent woolloongabba, Brisbane apartments, Brisbane housing supply, Brisbane property manager, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane rents, Dutton Park property manager, gabba property manager, gabba rents, investment property, median rents Brisbane, property management Brisbane, Rental Market, rental market woolloongabba, rental supply Brisbane, rents in woolloongabba, tenants Brisbane, woolloongabba property manager
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, Dutton Park, Woolloongabba | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 21 July 2011
The official data for the June quarter’s just been released and landlords (and would-be investors) should take encouragement from them. We like to use the 2 bed apartment rents as our benchmark and across inner-Brisbane they rose 4% or $20 to $470/week in the 3 months to June 30th. Across wider Brisbane City they rose just 1% and there’s no doubt some pockets are witnessing stronger demand than others.
The CBD/Spring Hill was up $40 (but this followed a $35 dip in March when the lackluster student demand pulled things back). The West End peninsula has just dropped $20 after a $30 rise in the March quarter. So while the trend is up the market is still finding its way.
Out of interest 3 bed houses (the next largest rental type in inner Brisbane) also rose $20 in the June quarter to reach $500/week. The rental pool did grow over that time, but only by 366 dwellings. Some areas like postcode 4066 actually lost homes from the rental supply during the quarter, usually the result of owner-residents buying from investors.
For median rents in your Brisbane postcode go to www.WhatRentMyHome.com.au
Tags: Brisbane rental properties, Brisbane rents, median rents Brisbane, rental supply Brisbane, www.WhatRentMyHome.com.au
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 18 July 2011
We like to use the 2 bed apartment rents as our benchmark and across inner-Brisbane they rose 4% in the 3 months to June 30th. Across wider Brisbane City they rose just 1% and there’s no doubt some pockets are witnessing stronger demand than others. Rents in this 4101 peninsula dropped $20 to $480 after a $30 rise in the March quarter. So while the trend is up the market is still finding its way. We added just 31 homes to the local rental pool in the June quarter, and while some new apartment projects are underway there’s good reason to expect rents to grow further.
Note: RTA stats quoted here cover all of postcode 4101 including South Brisbane, Highgate Hill and West End
If you would like a rental appraisal for your property just give our head of Property Management – Annie von Rudzinksi a call on 07 3214 6899.
For median rent information visit www.whatrentmyhome.com.au
Tags: Brisbane apartments, Brisbane housing supply, Brisbane property manager, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane rents, Highgate Hill property manager, Highgate Hill Rents, investment property, median rents Brisbane, property management Brisbane, Rental Market, rental supply Brisbane, South Bank Rents, South Brisbane property manager, South Brisbane Rents, tenants Brisbane, West End property manager
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, Highgate Hill, South Brisbane and South Bank, West End | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 15 June 2011
Over the past couple of weeks we’ve surveyed tenants living in Brisbane’s inner city, asking them to rate the importance of 22 features of rental homes. Tenants were reminded that extra features in a home do cost them more in rent, so the survey responses are a collective ‘shopping list’ – the items they’d like to have as their budget affords. It gives landlords a better insight into buying and improving their investment properties.
The most important item in a rental home:
Outdoor living space. Even with a dose of cold weather during the survey tenants say they want an area to get outside. Balconies, decks and courtyards are a bit hard to retro-fit in your rental property but it’s food for thought when you’re buying your next one. And it follows that improvements you make to those outdoor areas, for example adding a roof over a deck or even some simple privacy screening, would be welcomed by your tenants.
Clean and modern:
You’d expect tenants to want a modern home and they do. Three of the top 7 features they seek relate to the condition of the home with “a modern home or one in great condition” scoring a close 2nd on their overall list. Tenants are prepared to put their hand in their pocket to have modern fittings. We regularly hear tenant feedback that rental homes need fresh paint, new carpets and other simple updates. As a landlord it can be hard to keep an eye on these things but they have a clear impact on your rental return.
And the features tenants won’t pay to have:
The wooden spoon goes to gymnasiums, closely followed by swimming pools. Those of you forking over big body corp fees to maintain these items might be feeling a little frustrated with this finding but it didn’t surprise us. We’ve been surveying tenants since the late 1990’s and both items consistently rate amongst the least important in a rental home. Buyers and re-sale interest in them might be another story.
If you’d like a copy of our full report for landlords just email info@beesnees.com.au and we’ll forward it on. How tenants choose their rental home’s location and plenty more info is included. Keep in mind the surveyed tenants mostly live in apartments in suburbs within a 5 kilometer radius of the CBD so the findings should be read in that context.
Tags: Brisbane property manager, Brisbane rentals, home renovations Brisbane, property management Brisbane, tenant marketing Brisbane, tenants Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, architecture and renovation, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 20 May 2011
The official Flood Inquiry progresses and we wait to hear whether there’s an easy place to lay the blame for January’s flooding. In the meantime Brisbane City Council has published their updated FloodWise Property Reports.
If you own a Brisbane property we’d recommend you take the time to check the interim Brisbane flood maps, because home buyers and even some tenants will be making use of them. And they won’t be fully accurate.
So how did they create the maps? The flood line is a joint effort from the State Govt and BCC using aerial photography taken between January 13th and 15th, then verifying these against “digital elevation models and contours”. Naturally some things are hard to spot from the air. Large trees and buildings create shadows, muddy water might be confused with gardens etc.
Apparently in the aftermath of the 1974 floods paint marks on the streets showed where water had reached and no doubt some enterprising intending home-sellers got the metho onto those pretty quickly! In this digital age the public record stands, but it might be worth everyone approaching the maps with some caution.
If you’re looking to buy and aren’t sure about floods levels why not ask a neighbour? Even now, 4 months on, the visible signs are still there with watermarked garden walls for example.
Tags: 1974 floods, Brisbane City Council, Brisbane flood mapping, Brisbane floods 2011, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane tenants, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, Brisbane's sales market, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 24 April 2011
A wind of change is brewing for Woolloongabba and Dutton Park and you can see it in the latest rental stats, released with the Residential Tenancies Authority’s March quarter report. Local apartment rents are back up to $400 (for a median 2 bedroom) from $380 last quarter, with 3 bedroom houses rising $50 to $470/week. These rents are rising but the glimpse of what’s to come lies with a comparison to the adjoining postcode 4101. In the Gabba and Dutton Park median rents are so much cheaper than Highgate Hill and the other 4101 suburbs – $100 cheaper for a 2 bed apartment – that it’s hard to justify.
Some of this is due to new apartment projects in West End adding higher quality stock to their rental pool. But on any measure the Gabba and its surrounds have plenty to offer and the area’s proximity to the CBD is often overlooked. Rents across the inner-city were generally flat through 2009 and 2010 but patient landlords look like they’ll now be rewarded. In Woolloongabba there might be some “catch up” in the next couple of years.
Note: RTA stats quoted here cover all of postcode 4102 including Dutton Park. Buranda is a locality within the suburb of Woolloongabba so its also included.
Tags: Brisbane rental properties, Brisbane rents, rental prices Brisbane, rental supply Brisbane, Residential Tenancies Authority, www.WhatRentMyHome.com.au
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, Dutton Park, Woolloongabba | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 23 April 2011
The March quarter stats are out from the Residential Tenancies Authority and after a couple of years of fairly stable rents we’ve now had 2 quarters of growth in postcode 4101. The median rent for a two bedroom apartment has hit $500 per week, a significant milestone as the first area outside the CBD to reach that mark. It’s good news for patient landlords.
And interestingly the gap between postcode 4000 and 4101 is shrinking noticably. It’s now just $40/week dearer to live in the CBD than the West End/South Brisbane/Highgate Hill area, where it was $100 more a couple of years back. Why? One reason is the new developments through West End’s riverside precinct that have added a number of quality apartments with typically high rents. The inner-south’s early history may have been working class, but these suburb’s tenants now pay some of the highest rents in Queensland.
Go to www.WhatRentMyHome.com.au to see current median rents for other Brisbane suburbs. Note: RTA stats quoted here cover all of postcode 4101 including Highgate Hill, South Brisbane and West End.
Tags: Brisbane rental properties, Brisbane rents, rental prices Brisbane, rental supply Brisbane, Residential Tenancies Authority, www.WhatRentMyHome.com.au
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, Highgate Hill, South Brisbane and South Bank, West End | No Comments »
