CBD Property Brisbane

Australia’s real estate market is markedly different to the real estate markets of other developed nations, particularly property markets in the United States and the U.K.

The big difference is that while the USA suffers from an oversupply of property, Australia suffers from an acute shortage of property, especially in the rental sector.

The United States allowed people who could not really afford to repay loans to take them on at low initial interest rates. The lending practices of Australian banks have been much more shrewder, providing some protection for the Australian residential property market.

Queenslands capital city, Brisbane, has fared particularly well. Brisbane has enjoyed a steady population growth of around 3% per annum – at a time when developers are finding it tough to get banks to approve development projects.  Brisbane CBD Properties have been especially strong.

The undersupply of new housing stock, combined with increasing population growth, and hence demand, usually means rising prices. Wages are now growing again at a healthy pace, according to reports from Commsec.

The combination of an Australian economy now rebounding, property vacancy rates at historically low levels of 1-2%, rising wages, current low interest rates and stamp duty concessions, it would be a surprise if property prices in premium suburbs did not rise.

Single bedroom investment property in Brisbane CBD is renting for over $500 per week in some cases and yet people are still willing to pay to rent property. Demand outstrips supply throughout Brisbane, vacancy rates are falling, and rents are rising.

Competition for what rental accommodation is available is fierce. There are some Brisbane suburbs where the cost of the typical mortgage is less than the cost of renting. Under these conditions, it would not be surprising to see investors returning to the market.

Once this starts to happen, momentum starts to build, and property prices will experience upward pressure – especially Brisbane CBD Investment Properties. This is a real boon for property investors looking to build wealth through residential property investment, but of course tough on tenants,

Brisbane CBD Investment Properties By Terence J Fisher

At this point in time – mid 2009 – Brisbane property investments are in a very unusual position. Given the economic downturn worldwide, and particularly in the USA, property investment in most parts of the world has come to a halt.  

The competitive advantage enjoyed by Brisbane property investors is that Brisbane – and the southeast of Queensland in general – has continued to grow as Australians have headed north to the Sunshine State and immigrants have continued to arrive. This population growth has outstripped property investment, keeping prices reasonably buoyant compared to the rest of the world. This is particularly true of Brisbane CBD Properties. Even during the black times of 2008, property within 10 km of Brisbane CBD was actually growing in some suburbs.  

The second half of 2009 will be very interesting for Brisbane property investments. The Australian government’s first home buyer’s grant of $21,000 for new homes and $14,000 for established homes is due to be halved at the end of September 2009, and phased out completely before the end of 2009. This grant has fuelled property investment in Brisbane during 2008-9, but its removal may slow growth in 2010, making this the ideal time to invest in real estate in Brisbane.

While Brisbane CBD investment properties are strong, there are suburbs where property has yet to move. For this reason it is very important if you are considering property investment in Brisbane to do analysis suburb by suburb. Even during 2008 there were suburbs were experiencing double-digit growth in value, while other suburbs moved backwards. This disparity between suburbs makes the Brisbane real estate scene an interesting one, with bargains available for both buyers and sellers.

Another interesting element in timing is that at the time of this report – September 2009 – interest rates in Australia have dropped by 4.25%, but all indications now are that future movements will be upwards. The combination of low interest rates and the first-time buyer’s grant have fueled property investment in Brisbane, but the removal of this grant and higher interest rates may slow growth during 2010 – although this is by no means certain, as the population will almost certainly continue to grow.

If you need to sell your house, either for personal reasons or to rebalance your property investment portfolio, late 2009 may be a good time for selling Brisbane property investments.

Also, Brisbane real estate is currently seeing some very competitive offers on reducing the normal 2.5% commissions. By shopping around, Brisbane real estate buyers may be able to save them themselves thousands on real estate commissions. A graph of Brisbane property prices over the last 30 years shows consistent growth and it may be a great time to buy Brisbane CBD investment properties, particularly if you can afford to hold your investment for a while.

While there will always be a degree of uncertainty in buying and selling real estate, the position with Brisbane’s CBD investment properties compares extremely favorably with properties in places like in the USA and the UK that have been hit hard by the current economic recession.

Terence J Fisher runs several Real Estate Marketing Websites, including Brisbane Property Investment websites and Gold Coast Real Estate Marketing sites. Terence’s specialty is marketing – he does not sell Real Estate directly. In particular, he provides a ‘shop window’ for private sellers and small Real Estate offices that do not have their own website. For more information, please see: http://www.brisbanepropertyinvestment.com and http://www.cbdpropertybrisbane.com.

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