Queensland property sales up, but mining towns off the boil

The Queensland property market recorded its strongest numbers of house sales in nearly two years, according to the latest Real Estate Institute of Queensland data.

The REIQ September quarter median house price report the numbers of house sales increased over the quarter. The numbers of sales were also up 5% compared with the same period last year.

Many buyers had been waiting on the sidelines for economic and buying conditions to improve.

We always expected a sharp increase in activity in the September quarter, as many of our REIQ members had reported that buyers were waiting for interest rates to reduce further and for the return of stamp duty concessions on July 1 this year.

Historically, of course, the September quarter is the spring selling season, so activity is usually higher than during winter, but it is very heartening to see that the numbers of sales is even up on the same period last year.

There was a mix of median price increases and some reductions for major regions over the September quarter, but this can partly be attributed to different compositions of sales occurring over the period. For example, if more affordable properties sell, the median house price will also be lower.

In Brisbane, the median house price increased 1.6% to $508,000. The numbers of house sales was also up more than 35% compared with the June quarter.

Brisbane’s market continues to improve as buyers turn their attention to our affordable capital city property prices, as well as the continued strong demand for rental properties, which is attracting investors.

The mining areas of Queensland appear to have come off the boil a little, perhaps due to sharp property price increases over the past 12 months in Gladstone and Mackay in particular, however sales in these regions remain strong.

The top performer of all major regions over the quarter was Mackay, which posted a median house price increase of 4.7% to $445,000. Over the year, its median house price increased 4.9%.

Next was Redland City, which recorded a median house price increase of 2.7% to $450,000.

Anton Kardash is CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland. This article first appeared on the REIQ blog.