Property prices up more than 20 per cent in flight noise suburbs

Property prices have jumped by up to 48 per cent in some suburbs, despite flight noise complaints from the Brisbane airport second runway. But residents say it doesn’t tell the full story.

Property prices have risen higher in suburbs impacted by airport noise than the Brisbane average, it can be revealed, as Transport Minister Catherine King all but rules out a flight curfew.

It follows the release on Monday of the Trax report into airport noise issues stemming Brisbane Airport’s second runway, which made a range of recommendations including directing more flights be directed over Moreton Bay and reduced flight frequency.

The noise issue, which residents have compared to living under a “jet super highway”, has yet to have a significant impact on property prices analysis reveals.

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Brisbane residents rallying outside Brisbane Airport Corporation against fight noise. Picture: Tara Croser.

But a prominent residents’ group said the real impact has been hidden by the nationwide property price boom and by suburb averages not reflecting homes directly under flight paths.

Analysis of real estate market trends show that in the past 12 months while homes have spent slightly longer up for sale, the average price in impacted suburbs has increased slightly more than the Brisbane average.

As at August 2022, the average home sold in Brisbane had been on the market for 45 days and sold for an average of 20.5 per cent more than 12 months earlier, based on data from PropTrack.

Suburbs impacted by flight noise include Ascot, Hendra, Hamilton, New Farm, Teneriffe, Bulimba, Samford Valley, Brookfield and Upper Brookfield.

In the same time period houses sold in these suburbs were on the market for an average 49.7 days and had prices increase by 23.7 per cent, compared to sales 12 months earlier.

It includes Samford Valley where the average sale price was $1.6 million, up 30 per cent from 12 months earlier, houses in Hamilton sold for an average $2.23 million an increase of 48.7 per cent, and Brookfield where median prices were up 45 per cent to $1.8 million.

Houses in Hamilton took the longest to sell at 85 days on average, well up compared to the standard around Brisbane.

Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance chairman Marcus Foth said a more accurate reflection was a 2016 Environmental Impact Study for the Western Sydney Airport.

Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance chairman Marcus Foth rallying outside Brisbane Airport Corporation against fight noise. Picture: Tara Croser.

It included a data which showed flight noise accounted for a 10 per cent drop in property prices for Brisbane suburbs under the flight path of the original Brisbane Airport runway.

“Everything went up last year like crazy, it obfuscates the impact,” Dr Foth said.

“Suburb averages takes property prices across the entire suburb, while flight paths never cover an entire suburb.”

Meanwhile, Ms King said a flight curfew would shorten the lifespan of Brisbane airport.

“(That) mean that we have to bring forward a second airport for Brisbane which is costly and then just transfers a whole lot of noise to a range of other communities and in the process of having to deal with the flight paths,” she told ABC radio.

“I absolutely understand how distressed people are. It’s your home, you don’t want to have aircraft noise over it.

“My job now is to try and, as a party of government to try and actually do the best we can to try and alleviate it.”