Dozens more Brisbane suburbs staring down land tax as values jump

More than two-dozen Brisbane suburbs have seen median residential land valuations pass the $600,000 tax-free threshhold for the first time, in a shift that has also pushed the entire city above the key figure.

The council-wide jump of 12.7 per cent within a single year means thousands more property owners will be sent their first land tax bills this year amid major changes in the city’s property market.

Teneriffe, seen from across the Brisbane River at Bulimba, has surpassed neighbouring inner-north suburbs to record the highest median residential land value in the city: $1.6 million.Credit: Jamila Toderas

“Changed housing needs due to work from home have altered the urban property market and where people want to live,” Valuer-General Laura Dietrich said in a statement announcing the latest update to figures in 24 councils statewide.

“There have been significant changes to land values in south-east Queensland local government areas of Noosa, Gympie, Ipswich, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley and Southern Downs, while Brisbane and Logan have reflected minor to moderate increases.”

Increased values and the potential land tax bills which follow will likely add further cost pressures to the budgets of homeowners grappling with 11-year-high interest rates, along with the third of households who rent dealing with record-high prices and vacancy rates.

A total of 113 of the Brisbane council area’s 186 localities now have median residential land values above the tax threshhold, set to deliver even more letters to owners in the second half of 2023 after the number doubled this financial year.

The outer southern suburbs of Willawong, Pallara (the city’s fastest growing suburb) and Rochedale all recorded a median increase of 40 per cent or higher – enough to push the latter above the tax threshold to $730,000.

Others with median valuations now above $600,000 include Wynnum, Manly West and Lota on the bayside, Geebung and Bridgeman Downs on the northside, along with The Gap and Brookfield to the west.

A total of 19 suburbs had no change in their median valuation, while four (Sandgate, Wilston and Deagon) saw single-figure percentage point declines. Flood-prone Rocklea’s median value dropped nearly 14 per cent to $280,000.

Meanwhile, the inner-north suburb of Teneriffe has now passed neighbouring Newstead and Ascot to claim the highest median value in the city: $1.6 million.

Total industrial and primary production land values across the city also saw jumps of 17.2 and 20.4 per cent, respectively, while primary production land in the state’s rural west showed “significant” increases. New values will take effect from June 30.

While exemptions for the tax on land valued at more than $600,000 exist, such as for a person’s usual home, these are not automatic and require approval by the revenue office.

However, about 60 per cent of individuals getting a bill for the first time are expected to be granted such exceptions.

The government’s own website provides an example of land valued at $680,000, resulting in an annual tax bill of $1300. Absentee owners, companies, trusts and foreign investors are taxed at a higher rate.

The bottom threshold for individual land tax last changed – from $500,000 to $600,000 – in the 2007-08 financial year.

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