Posted by admin on 4 December 2008
For those of you who love their property stats, here’s a round-up of some of the latest on our market. According to RP Data Brisbane prices are down 1.7% for 2008 with our auction clearance rate just 25%. The average time it takes to sell a house is now up to 47 days and apartments are 44, with an average discount from original listed price of 6.1%. Rents have risen strongly this year – up 10% for 2 bed apartments and 14% for 3 bed houses in the inner suburbs, according to the Residential Tenancies Authority. The Real Estate Institute of Qld says the vacancy rate is 1.3% (down from 2.6% in June 2007), while in our office it’s currently 0.5%.
The ABS has just released population data for the year to June and Queensland added 98,000 residents. QIC’s Doug McTaggart says this will grow as Sydney house prices recover and New South Welshpersons creep over the border. Valuers Herron Todd White report the inner city’s market is holding up relatively well and “staying near the CBD will certainly help keep property blues at bay.” The Reserve Bank yesterday dropped official interest rates by another full point to 4.25%, some commentators are tipping it’ll go to the 2’s, and analyst Michael Matusik comments that “every 0.25% fall translates into a household being able to push up the price of housing by 2% for the same level of repayments”.
Tags: auction clearance rate Brisbane, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Herron Todd White, Michael Matusik, Real Estate Institute of Queensland, Residential Tenancies Authority, RP Data, time on market
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, Brisbane's sales market | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 12 November 2008
As agents we’ve often thought it ironic how home-buyers tell us they’re after a place with a sense of community, where neighbours know their name, somewhere to feel they are included and “belong”. Whole housing estates and apartment buildings are marketed for this appeal. Yet once people move in to their dwellings they often install privacy fencing, black-out curtains and wait til after dark to take out the rubbish, lest they should bump into those loud-music-playing inconsiderates. (Admit it, you have!) Aussies would even prefer bikies living next door to a “nosy nanna”, according to a www.realestate.com.au survey!
With many of us struggling to share it won’t surprise you that recent stats show most Australian households have lots of spare bedrooms. Lots and lots of them. According to the ABS 78% of homes have at least one spare bedroom. A generation or two ago it was commonplace for widows and others to have a “lodger” or boarder living in. There was an acceptance that the extra income offset any inconvenience of hosting them, and in an era when for example women weren’t as accepted in the workplace, this was a handy solution. Male lodgers also took care of the ‘male’ jobs around the home, like lawn-mowing…
For those happy to share their homes there’s a massive market on offer in Brisbane’s inner city today. Largely driven by the international student boom and a critical housing shortage some home owners are earning up to $200 per week per student, providing little more than a modest room and amenities. Many of our Universities and TAFE’s run home-stay schemes to match owners and room-seekers. The ABS says a massive 98% of couple households have spare bedrooms so this housing ’supply’ can be turned on pretty quickly. Instead of filling the empty nest with Chihuahuas and poodles this gives home owners the option of some human company (and money).
And the feedback from home owners we’ve talked to? For the most part these are positive experiences with great friendships made. One couple told us they’d travelled to visit former lodgers in their home countries. Another said their children kept in touch with previous home-stayers on Skype, and were hoping to study in that country after school. Maybe we need to put our distrust of strangers aside a little. Our homes are still getting bigger, we want the 42″ plasma today and we don’t want to live in the ‘burbs. So putting a lodger into the room at the end of the hallway might be a happy compromise.
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, international students Brisbane, www.realestate.com.au
Posted in trends in Brisbane property | 1 Comment »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 1 October 2008
We once tried to sell a South Bank apartment to a gentleman from Hong Kong who was concerned it was leasehold, with a 110 year term. When we rang with the great news that the lease term had been extended to 999 years he immediately asked “Yes but what happens to my title then?!” While he did go on to buy it (great salesperson) it’s an insight into how some people and cultures take a longer term view of life. And they plan for that future.
The ABS last month released their own very long term view – population predictions for Australia for the rest of this century. In the year 2056 Brisbane will be home to 4 million, our nation’s fastest growing capital with a more-than-sizeable jump from our current 1.8 million. The ABS medium series predicts annual growth of 1.6% in our city, so an average of approx 17,000 new homes will need to be built every year over this next half century.
What will Brisvegas look like in 2056? We know most of our growth will come from migration (Australia’s net immigration this past year was 200,000 – the highest on record) so menus are more likely to feature Mee Goreng and San Choy Bao. And if we can’t persuade the Poms to stay home it’s darts at the pub and cold pies for everyone!
Where were we 50 years ago? Brisbane had just 692,000 residents. So if you’ve never thought about writing to your local politician before, consider this – as our population more than doubles where will our water supply come from? How many lanes does Coronation Drive really need to be? While planners struggle with the politics and resident protests like: “we don’t want a crowded road while you build that new bridge”, all of us hope infrastructure is better planned in the next 50 years than during the past 50.
With residents over age 65 growing to 28% of the population (up from the current 15%) they’d better not include steps anywhere!
The ABS also made their population predictions for the start of next century, with Australia’s current 21 million tipped to top 45 million in the year 2101. And while they haven’t forecast for Brisbane, with a little crystal-balling and assuming our growth rate slows in the second half of the century here’s the Bees Nees prediction: 7 million residents.
Enjoy your quick drive home today!
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, population growth Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's future & new infrastructure | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 10 September 2008
Beggars, as most first home buyers consider themselves, can not be choosers. So the September 1st cut in their stamp duty thresholds are definitely welcome. In the Sunshine State there’s now zero duty on a first home of $500,000 or less, up from the previous cut-off of $350k. Despite the recent interest rates cuts it’s still tough to get into the market so governments need to act. All other owner-occupiers got a small reduction too with the 1% flat rate extending to $350k, up from $320k. These are all great news for home buyers in Bundaberg and Cooktown. But in downtown Brisvegas they’re the proverbial drop in the bucket. We don’t have too many $400,000 homes! The first home buyer concessions stop at $550k, so for example buying a $750k home to occupy will come with a stamps bill of $19,600, down just $150 since the changes.
Now we don’t want to be seen to be ungrateful… but is $150 really going to help inner-Brisbane home buyers? Pizza and beer on move-in night maybe, while the government coffers swell with another twenty grand.
Hidden in the government’s detail is the increase on duty for investment purchases. That same $750,000 property bought as a rental now has a tax grab of $26,775, up $500 since Captain Bligh’s changes! This will flow on to tenants in higher rents of course, possibly reducing their savings and guaranteeing they never take advantage of those lower duties on their own purchase!
Meantime this week’s new ABS construction stats show loans for new houses have dropped to their lowest level since 2002. We’re not building enough and ANZ Bank’s senior economist says the growing housing shortage is setting the scene for “the mother of all housing booms”. They say pent-up housing demand is heading for record levels.
Serious initiatives have to be looked at for improving the supply of new housing, including long overdue reductions in taxes on new land releases. For inner city suburbs what about Morris Iemma’s idea (remember, used to be the NSW Premier!) for home owners to build and rent a “Fonzie Flat” in the backyard. Fonzie starred in TV’s “Happy Days” and his was over the garage. Morris suggested owners could earn rent from the flats but still retain the Capital Gains Tax exemption for their otherwise owner-occupied homes.
In the meantime maybe that $150 stamps reduction could be changed to a free letterbox for every new home built?!
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane housing supply, capital gains tax, first home owners, stamp duty Queensland
Posted in property taxes and rates etc | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 5 March 2008
The announcement of a further 0.25% interest rate rise has predictably drawn comment that recent strong property sales volumes will slow. And we agree. There’s no doubt buyer confidence in the market will ease because this is exactly what the Reserve Bank needs. To rein in inflation the RBA needs you and I to put our wallets away. But in the face of this co-ordinated campaign to slow property sales we thought it worth reviewing some of the supply and demand issues behind Brisbane’s solid property price growth.
More people require more homes, and the ABS tells us our national population grows by 1 person every 1 minute and 42 seconds. New arrivals off the plane pretty much cancel out deaths, so every time a doctor slaps a new-born bum our country needs more homes. Queensland was the only state last year to record significant population growth (approx 24,000) while NSW the only to record a big drop (approx 24,000 – if only they would support our Origin team once they got here!).
What about ability to borrow and repay a loan? Our unemployment rate dropped again in January, now at 4.1%. And in the year to November our wages were up 5%. There’s no doubt interest rate rises will put home ownership out of many people’s reach, and these people will continue to rent, adding pressure to that surging market.
On the supply side Queensland’s building approvals dropped almost 6% in December and nationally we had a 3% drop in investment housing finance in the same month. The Housing Industry Association says we’re undersupplied by 20,000 homes and the prices of new homes are continuing to rise. In its recent HIA Trades Report it records all residential construction trades as being in short supply with SE Qld one of the most severely affected by skills shortages. If you can’t find a sparkie to fix anything it’s because they’re rated as “critical short supply”. Booms in mining, infrastructure works and commercial building are all forcing construction prices higher.
Overall we have more people earning more money needing more homes, with those homes costing more to build. In areas like Brisbane’s inner city this situation is at its strongest. So while the RBA wields its ‘rates sabre’ the decision to not buy will for many be based on fear, that strongest of investment emotions.
For those who understand the strength of demand and scarcity of supply, and recognise an opportunity, this could well be a great time to buy.
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane housing supply, Housing Industry Association, interest rates, population growth Brisbane, Reserve Bank, unemployment rate Australia
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 26 September 2007
They’re just not great headlines: “Market good, some prices up strongly, other prices up a bit”. And of course it serves some peoples’ interests to talk a market up, especially if they have a bunch of new properties to sell. So amongst the repeated stories of a return to boom days, here’s a quick look at the stats and some thoughts from on the ground in Brisbane’s inner suburbs.
According to Macquarie Real Estate Brisbane’s house prices rose 9% in the first half of this year. Matusik Property Insights report a jump of 6% in the June quarter alone (yes that’s 24% annualised). These are very strong numbers from very credible sources. And with just under 50,000 people moving to Queensland in 2006 (net of those deserting us!) demand for housing is strong. Matusik rightly reports that supply is still constrained, and shortfalls in Brisbane are “acute”.
Inner city Brisbane is clearly a mixed bag with houses and many apartments suited to owner-occupants selling fast and with prices that reflect the reported stats. It’s fair to say we are going through a mini-boom in some pockets. Investors though have not yet leapt back into the market in big numbers. While rents are rising they’re not on fire, so net returns are yet to stir serious levels of interest. And investors are a little preoccupied elsewhere. ABS report a $72billion increase in Australians’ superannuation assets during the June quarter as people rushed to meet the June 30 deadline. That money’s simply not flowing back to property – yet.
So for a lot of smaller or older inner Brisbane apartments there’s now some big price savings compared to larger apartments and houses right next door, simply because there’s fewer buyers for them. The part-time developers are starting to pounce on unwanted, tired apartments and doing a Blitz/Block/Hot Property makeover, serving them back to a hungry owner-resident market. For those keen buyers who enjoy painting bathroom ceilings on their Sunday mornings there’ll no doubt be some dollars to be made!
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane housing supply, Michael Matusik, population growth Brisbane, superannuation
Posted in Brisbane's sales market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 4 July 2007
An apartment-dwelling tenant in a multicultural and childless small household. That could well be inner Brisbane’s typical resident, according to the latest Census stats for the 17 suburbs immediately surrounding the CBD. This area has just 2 people per household (compared to 2.6 for Brisbane and Australia) so it’s no surprise more than 2-thirds of all dwellings are apartments and similar.
A whopping 50% of homes are rented and if you aren’t the type to say hi to your neighbour maybe it’s time you did – 30% of households have just the one resident. Couples without kids are double the number of those with children. And while our inner-city has plenty of English and Kiwis we do have less than our fair share, and there’s far more Korean and Chinese born residents than you’d expect to find across Brisbane. Just 70% of households say they only speak English at home compared to 84% across the whole city, and Mandarin (2% of households) and Greek (1.7%) speakers are amongst the cultures adding colour and life to our inner suburbs.
We’re now updating Bees Nees’ short suburb profiles using the latest ABS stats so if you’d like to receive a copy just click here to send us an email.
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, household types, multiculturalism
Posted in trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 7 March 2007
Single young male Brisbanites take note – our inner city is no place to meet ladies! Occasionally we see an interesting statistic from the ABS and their latest population figures show many of our inner suburbs have a big deficiency in resident females aged 20-39. Spring Hill is our worst, with 1.5 men for every woman in that age group! Bowen Hills (1.38) and the Valley (1.29) aren’t much better. If you want to stay reasonably close to town Albion’s your best bet, with just 0.83 men for each young lady.
ABS has confirmed Brisbane City Council is Australia’s fastest growing local authority, up another 14,000 residents in the year to June 2006. That’s now jumped almost 100,000 since 2001 (so that’s who’s drinking all our water!) New Farm is our most densely populated suburb with a massive 5,500 people per square kilometre, with Kangaroo Point not far behind at 5,200.
Tags: Albion Brisbane, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Bowen Hills Brisbane, Brisbane City Council, Kangaroo Point Brisbane, New Farm Brisbane, population growth Brisbane, Spring Hill Brisbane, the Valley Brisbane
Posted in Spring Hill, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 21 February 2007
This is without doubt the question we’re being asked most at the moment. Of course all good real estate agents know the way to answer this one, but here’s a few observations from the coalface. There are some encouraging prices being achieved and we believe the supply of possible buyers is actually quite large. There’s a big number “lying in wait”. We used to be able to confidently predict that buyers would be in the market for 6-8 weeks only, they’d buy or opt out. Largely aided by the internet, many are now remaining on active search duty for upwards of 4-6 months. So when a new listing comes along we’re getting very solid enquiry. And with that relative strength of demand there appear to be some properties and pockets of inner Brisbane where there’s minimal supply, and sellers are being left with a happy grin, if not a broad smile!
Prices are not zooming ahead but for better presented property, and definitely those that have something unique, sales prices seem to be creeping up. The ABS December stats show Brisbane’s house price up 3% for the quarter, compared to a capital city average of less than 1%. The ABS says our 2006 growth was 7.1% but we haven’t seen too many on-the-ground examples that support this high a number. One notable exception is near CBD houses, where few owners have strong reasons to sell and in suburbs like Spring Hill and West End for example, even the most ‘modest’ old place is pushing past $500,000.
Brisbane’s median apartment price is still well under $300,000, making us the 3rd cheapest after Adelaide and Hobart. So unless you’re enticed by either of those fair cities….. it’s our opinion inner Brisbane apartments particularly are still relatively undervalued. In one South Brisbane comparison we have a 15 month old re-sale that’s $190,000 cheaper than a very comparable off-the-plan apartment just 300m away. The developers aren’t being greedy – they simply can’t offer new projects at less and still achieve a return.
So yes it is a good time to sell provided you appoint Bees Nees!
Tags: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane real estate agents, Spring Hill Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, South Brisbane and South Bank, Spring Hill, West End | No Comments »
