Brisbane property prices rose two per cent month-on-month in July, surpassing the monthly increases in Sydney and Melbourne, according to data from property market analysts CoreLogic.
Queensland real estate agent and head of real estate video channel ‘Live in AU’, Jeff Ng, told SBS Chinese that although Brisbane’s property prices have steadily risen over many years, the news of Brisbane winning the hosting rights to the Olympics is behind the latest rise.
“You can see that there are more buyers in the market but not enough stock… Many buyers bought investment properties in Brisbane after finding out the city was bidding to host the Olympics.”
"The news has spurred on more investors to buy property because they feel prices will rise similarly to the way they have in Sydney and Melbourne, further adding ‘fuel’ to an already hot property market."
Brisbane estate agent Jeff Yu says there's more interest in local properties now that the city has secured the 2032 Olympics. Source: Supplied
Developers immediately raise prices
Mr Ng said investors are interested in properties in developed areas, with good access to public transport, services and facilities as well as areas near large-scale, planned infrastructure projects.
Several big developers he collaborates with have immediately pushed up prices of new real estate.
“The day after Brisbane won the rights to host the Olympics, some developers contacted us to indicate a change to their previous price list. They pushed up the sale price of each unit by $10,000.”
Mr Ng said he has received a handful of enquiries from local and overseas buyers looking to buy in Brisbane since the July 21 announcement.
Annastacia Palaszczuk celebrates after Brisbane was announced as the 2032 Summer Olympics host city during the 138th IOC Session in Japan. Source: Getty
Overseas buyers optimistic about Brisbane
Although Australia has not yet opened its international borders, Hong Kongers ready to immigrate to Australia have bought properties in Brisbane.
Clifford Kwok told SBS Chinese he is one of them.
Mr Kwok said he will move to Australia next year after initially thinking about purchasing property in Sydney or Melbourne.
“But due to the Olympic news and the lower cost of living in Brisbane, I ended up buying a townhouse there,” he said.
“Brisbane property prices are still relatively low. Sydney and Melbourne are too expensive. It’s not worth it even though Brisbane is not as mature as those two cities and may not have as high of a living index,” he added.
‘Brisbane property prices up 121 per cent’
Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group Executive Chairman Georg Chmiel. Source: Supplied
Executive chairman of real estate sales site Juwai IQI George Chmiel told SBS Chinese that in the week following news of Brisbane’s successful Olympic bid, the number of enquiries from Chinese buyers increased fourfold compared to the 10 weeks prior to July 21.
Mr Chmiel said the Olympics will have a significant impact on local real estate prices in the next 10 years, with interest to spread across Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast where stadiums and athlete villages will be based.
“The current median house prices in Brisbane is $678,236. Our best estimate for Brisbane’s median house price is that it will climb to $1.2 million to $1.5 million by the Olympics, an increase of 76.9 and 121.1 per cent.”
Mr Chmiel emphasised that the Olympics is not just a two-week sporting event, but an occurrence attracting more than $4 billion over the next 10 years that will be invested into the local area, including infrastructure and transportation.
He said Queensland is expected to draw interstate migrant workers, which will increase demand for new dwellings.
Housing demand will further push up property prices and factors such as low interest rates will also play an important role in the local property market, he added.
