The best time to purchase a Mackay home in 2021

An REIQ expert details why plus how the residential real estate market will change over the coming months

An REIQ expert says now is the best time to buy in Mackay. Picture: Tara Croser.

A real estate expert says now is the best time to buy residential property in Mackay before COVID-19-induced migration pushes prices up further.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland corporate affairs manager Olivier Björksäter-Bleylock said the regional Queensland markets would perform “really well” over the coming 12 to 18 months.

“COVID has created this paradigm shift in the way that we’re all working,” Mr Björksäter-Bleylock said.

“A lot of people are very fortunate now that they’re able to work from home.

“That in itself has made a lot of renters decide that they don’t need to live in expensive areas to work where they work.

“They’re either moving out of Brisbane or into regional areas.

“They’re also competing with interstate.

“The influx of interstate, particularly from NSW and Victoria, has been quite phenomenal.

“We’re finding also, there are a lot of families who have moved out of the Sunshine Coast because they have taken advantage of interstate interest — that continues to be the number one destination for interstate.

“They're selling up and moving on.

“What we’ve found is they're heading to areas like Mackay and Gladstone in particular.”

More stories:

City exodus: Mackay named affordability hotspot

How to bounce back from recession in 2021

Your chance to buy a slice of Mackay Harbour

He said former fly-in, fly-out workers were also relocating to Mackay with their families while infrastructure projects attracted more newcomers.

Mackay real estate is in hot demand as COVID-19 influences migration. Picture: Zizi Averill

But unlike in Sydney where COVID had forced median residential prices to plummet between 20 to 40 per cent, Mr Björksäter-Bleylock said Mackay’s prices had been “artificially” rising.

He explained this was because of the increased pool of buyers combined with fewer Mackay homeowners choosing to pack up and move on elsewhere.

“There are only a limited amount of sellers in the market because they’re still uncertain with what’s happening with COVID, or they’re equally uncertain, ‘well if I sell now, there’s hardly any stock around, will I find something I can move into?’”

Subscriber benefits:

Your dose of Harry Bruce cartoons

Five ways to get more from your digital subscription

He said Mackay’s median residential home prices had been “up and down” for the past five years but recent year-on-year growth had gone from $345,000 to $365,750.

Aerial of Mackay. Picture: Zizi Averill

And in the past quarter alone, the median house price rose from $358,000 to $379,000.

But Mr Björksäter-Bleylock said the median price of units had not fared as well.

In April, the average was $231,000, dipping to $225,000 in August and dropping further to $200,000 in December.

“One thing COVID has shown us is people want more space,” Mr Björksäter-Bleylock said.

“Units have really become the second choice for a lot of families.”

Mr Björksäter-Bleylock advised budding homeowners to act sooner rather than later with “historically low” interest rates and a raft of grants available.

“Your mortgage repayments would actually be cheaper than some of the rents that are currently being commanded,” he said.

“Technically, it’s a seller’s market, but it’s also a buyer’s market in making the transition from being a renter to being a homeowner.”

Originally published as