House prices increase

STRONG growth in prices of established houses and vacant land has made the dream of owning a home difficult to achieve for many Ipswich residents.

STRONG growth in prices of established houses and vacant land has made the dream of owning a home difficult to achieve for many Ipswich residents.

However, the State of the Regions report, prepared by Reed Construction Data for Master Builders Queensland, shows Ipswich as one of the more affordable places to buy or build a home in Queensland, particularly when compared with Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The city’s median house price of $319,000 was still more than four times the average income, putting us in the same league of unaffordability as Toowoomba, Rockhampton and the Fraser Coast.

This median house price increased by 5.7 per cent in the 12 months to December 2009, with established-house prices rising even more over the same period: 6.5 per cent growth recorded for an average of $376,000.

The report said the difference between the median house price and median land price was fairly small in Ipswich, suggesting that demand exceeded supply, thus forcing up the price of the land.

“The data highlights the significant challenges that many first-home buyers face in getting a foothold in the greater Brisbane property market,” the report said.

“The sad reality is that some residents will simply be unable to achieve the dream of home ownership, particularly if the median house-price growth continues to outstrip the growth in median household income.”

Affordable housing has been planned in Ipswich.

A 2500-home development was launched last April at Walloon, taking advantage of $10 million of Federal Government Housing Affordability Funding.

Buyers are expected to be able to save up to $10,000 each.

Originally published as House prices increase