Home price boom: 18 new suburbs join Qld’s million-dollar club

Another 18 suburbs have joined Queensland’s million-dollar club as new figures show home prices have jumped $140,000 in some areas since the start of the year. SEARCH YOUR SUBURB.

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Another 18 suburbs have joined Queensland’s million-dollar club in just three months as new figures show home prices have jumped $140,000 in some suburbs since the start of the year.

The median value of units in particular have soared in the past three months, according to the latest PropTrack data, led by Woodridge, Kingston, Logan Central — all recording unit price gains of around 12 per cent or between $30,000 and 60,000.

This two-bedroom unit at 16/33 Bruce Rd, Woodridge, recently sold for $328,055.

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A whopping 219 suburbs across the state now have a median value of more than $1 million, with newcomers in the March quarter including the once affordable locales of Middle Park, Everton Park, Nudgee, Aspley, Murarrie, and Eatons Hill.

McGrath Estate Agents Aspley agent Sam Scott said home prices in the Everton Park/Aspley area had jumped $50,000 “almost overnight”.

This four-bedroom house at 36 Old Northern Rd, Everton Park, is on the market for offers over $1.1m.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Mr Scott said. “Clearly... it just comes down to affordability. As one suburb gets too expensive, it’s pushing buyers further and further out.”

The biggest monetary price gain in the past three months was in St Lucia, in Brisbane’s west, where the median house value has skyrocketed by $143,900 to $1.91 million.

This five-bedroom house at 51 Ninth Avenue, St Lucia, recently sold for $3.55m.

For units, one of the biggest value gains was in Murarrie, where the median unit price has increased by $77,000 to $803,400.

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The huge gains in median home values across the state over the past year are even more astonishing, according to the annual data.

Some suburbs have recorded eyewatering gains of up to 43 per cent — or more than $100,000 — in the past 12 months, led by units in the Logan region.

This two-bedroom unit at 12/20-24 Bourke Street, Waterford West, recently sold for $335,000.

The median unit value in Waterford West is now $375,900 after jumping $112,000 in a year, followed by Slacks Creek, where the median unit value is now $115,000 more expensive.

“It’s literally been insane,” Ray White AKG principal Avi Khan said.

“What we’ve noticed is two or three years ago, units and townhouses in Logan had very long days on market, but what’s happened is people have been realising Logan is in the middle of everywhere — it’s halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, so the location works for everyone.

Principal of Ray White AKG, Avi Khan.

“Not just first homebuyers, but investors, because the rental returns are very good. That’s why the price of units has gone through the roof. And, the negative connotations of Logan have died down in the past year or so, also.”

Brisbane’s overall median home price surpassed $800,000 for the first time in history last month, hitting a fresh high after 15 straight months of gains.

Dwelling values — houses and units combined — grew another 0.41 per cent in March, according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index, with the median price now 12.9 per cent higher than it was 12 months ago, and only $1000 behind Melbourne at $802,000.

Brisbane home prices have surged 63.1 per cent since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Picture: John Gass.

Brisbane home prices have surged 63.1 per cent since the pandemic onset in March 2020 — only surpassed nationally by Adelaide (+64 per cent), while regional Queensland home values have rocketed 66 per cent since March 2020 — the highest in the country.

Home price gains since the pandemic are even higher in Ipswich (+79.7 per cent), and the Logan-Beaudesert region (+74.1 per cent).

PropTrack economist Eleanor Creagh said interest rate stability had improved confidence among buyers and sellers, resulting in higher sales volumes and price growth.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh. Photo: Supplied

The Reserve Bank holds its next meeting in May, and many economists believe it will start cutting interest rates in the second half of the year.

“While expectations remain that rates will move lower later this year, we continue to see that demand/supply imbalance and prices continuing to rise in the months ahead,” Ms Creagh said. “Affordability has deteriorated, so we might see the pace of growth slow in the winter months, but accelerate again later in the year.

“The primary driving force (of the price gains) has been the demand/supply imbalance, and that doesn’t look like it’s going away any time soon, so I would say it’s likely prices are going to continue to rise.”

The RBA is expected to start cutting interest rates later this year. Picture: Joel Carrett.

There were also some significant home value gains in regional Queensland, according to the PropTrack data.

On the Gold Coast, the median unit value in Currumbin has increased by $57,000 in just three months to sit at $898,800, followed by units in Elanora, which have gained $47,000 in value since the start of the year.

Gold Coast real estate principal Michael Kollosche said the city’s booming unit sector was driven by continued interstate migration by cashed-up buyers seeking luxury apartments, along with downsizers and other buyers at the lower end of the price spectrum.

The latest K Property Insights report, compiled by Mr Kollosche with industry analyst Michael Matusik, found apartment prices on the Gold Coast had registered growth for the past 10 years, lifting in real terms by 15 per cent annually.

A two-bedroom unit in this complex at 738 Pacific Pde, Currumbin, sold for $1.2m in March.

“We have seen a shift towards developers delivering larger, half and full-floor apartments in boutique residential-only buildings to cater for those moving from larger homes, who don’t want to compromise on size and quality,” Mr Kollosche said.

The biggest jump in the median house value during the March quarter was in Biggera Waters, increasing $71,600 to $1.125 million.

In the coastal town of Forrest Beach, north of Townsville, the median house price rose from $344,600 to $368,200, and in Murgon, the median house price is now $24,000 more expensive.

The gains were more subdued on the Sunshine Coast, with Caloundra recording the highest quarterly increase of $41,000, taking its median unit price to $768,800.

Units make up the top 44 suburbs with the highest price gains in the past three months in Queensland.

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said unit price growth in Brisbane had exceeded house price growth for the past 12 months.

This three-bedroom house 16 Hibiscus St, Forrest Beach, recently sold for $555,000.

“Part of the reason for this is a combination of underbuilding and population growth,” Ms Conisbee said.

“Whereas Sydney and Melbourne went into the pandemic with a strong pipeline of new development, this wasn’t the case elsewhere. Brisbane specifically has seen very strong population growth since then.”

Place Kangaroo Point selling agent Courtney Caulfield, who is marketing a new unit development in Toowong, said the high-end apartment market was attracting strong interest from buyers.

An artist’s impression of luxury apartment developer Azure’s ‘One Earle Lane’ development, which is 90 per cent sold.

More than 90 per cent of Azure’s ‘One Earle Lane’ development is sold out, with final apartments released to the market in recent weeks.

“In fact, Brisbane’s unit market has experienced the second-highest capital growth nationally, with a noticeable growth rate of 14.8 per cent over the past 12 months,” Mrs Caulfield said.

Scott O’Neill, managing director of buyer’s agency, Rethink Investing, said the rise in home prices again in March would likely push any rate cuts back to later in the year.

“Undoubtedly, one of the RBA’s concerns would be the impact of house price pressures,” Mr O’Neill said.

“If rates dropped now, we would see the speed of growth pick up and worsen the housing crisis in Australia. There was talk that the RBA was going to decrease the interest rate as early as May 2024. However, I personally believe it will happen in the last quarter of 2024.”

From an investment perspective, Mr O’Neill said the most promising growth prospects were in Queensland, particularly South East Queensland, and Perth in Western Australia.

“These areas present enticing growth opportunities due to their comparative affordability in relation to other regions,” he said.

“As they undergo a period of catching up in terms of growth, they are anticipated to outperform other markets.”