Why Brisbane home prices could spark up this Spring

A massive drop in property listings in Brisbane to 40 per cent below the Qld capital’s 10-year average is set to put even greater pressure on home prices. SEE TOP 5 & WORST HIT SUBURBS

Buying a house in Brisbane has become even harder with new listings continuing to tighten. Picture: AAP Image/Glenn Hunt.

A massive drop in property listings in Brisbane to 40 per cent below the Qld capital’s 10-year average is set to put greater pressure on home prices.

The PropTrack Listings Report for July 2023, released Thursday, found listing levels in Brisbane were not just down month on month but also year on year, and dramatically trailing decade averages.

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Sellers are now facing low levels of competition from other properties. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass.

PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said “buyers across the capital cities are facing starkly different conditions”.

“The total number of properties available for sale is above decade-average in Melbourne and Canberra, and only slightly below in Sydney. In contrast, the total number of properties listed for sale is close to 40 per cent below the prior decade average in Adelaide and Brisbane, and at a record low in Perth, giving buyers few options.”

New listings on realestate.com.au in Brisbane fell by 2.9 per cent month-on-month, in line with the midwinter seasonal lull, he said, but were also down 14 per cent this July compared to the previous year.

The total number of properties listed for sale – including new and current listings – increased 2.1 per cent month-on-month, but Mr Moore said “the pick-up wasn’t enough to match last year, with total listings remaining 12.5 per cent lower compared to a year ago”.

PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said the total number of properties listed for sale in Brisbane is close to 40 per cent below the prior decade average.

MORE: See the latest PropTrack Home Price Index

Greater Brisbane’s top five suburbs with the biggest increases in new listings on realestate.com.au were led by a 100 per cent rise year-on-year out of Doolandella – one of the most affordable suburbs in the capital’s west.

But there were also solid rises out of Ashgrove (93pc), Windsor (91pc), Newport (82pc) and Ascot (73pc) – all areas where buyers may find greater levels of choice compared to the same time last year.

Some of Greater Brisbane’s most affordable suburbs were in the hardest hit areas, where new listings have dropped dramatically, led by a massive 64 per cent fall in Slacks Creek. Beenleigh was also down by more than half (-59pc) as well as Hillcrest (-56pc), Regents Park

(-54pc) and Springfield Lakes (-51pc).

Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner said the market was a ‘golden opportunity’ for sellers.

Analyst Kent Lardner of Suburbtrends said some places were now forecast to see new listings drop by up to 17 per cent such as Gladstone in regional Queensland.

“The current landscape is akin to a bottleneck, with listings tightening and selling agents facing an uphill battle (getting new listings),” he said.

Mr Lardner said the only thing holding prices back at present was the threat of more interest rate rises, but prices were already climbing despite that.

He said sellers sitting on the fence were in a prime position to capitalise on this “golden opportunity”.

Mr Moore said “choice for buyers remains very limited. The total number of properties listed for sale across Brisbane is about 40 per cent lower than what has been typical over the past decade”.

PropTrack also found choices were limited across regional Queensland, down 11 per cent in June month on month, and falling 16.2 per cent year-on-year.

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