Right-size: Top QLD picks for upsizers and downsizers

Queensland downsizers are being encouraged to vacate their under-utilised homes to help ease the housing crisis, with a quarter of all dwellings now one person households.

Queensland downsizers are being encouraged to vacate their under-utilised homes to help ease the housing crisis, with a quarter of all dwellings now one person households.

And there are some huge financial perks on the table for those willing to right-size their lives.

It comes as industry experts reveal their top spots for both downsizers and upgraders.

25 Prospect St, Wilston - sold for $3.5m to a local couple with their six month year old baby in their arms. The vendors were empty-nesters who had owned the home for 20 years.

The Ray White Weekly Economic Update revealed there were around 13 million spare bedrooms across Australia based on ABS data, with many of those located in the homes of couples with no children or single person households.

“A lot of Australia’s housing problems aren’t necessarily about there being not enough homes but an inability to use these homes most efficiently,” Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said.

“It is very rare for these suburbs to have suitable homes to downsize to.

“By developing more suitable accommodation, we could free up larger homes that can accommodate families that would better use all those bedrooms.”

409 Musgrave Rd, Coopers Plains recently sold for $875,000 to a local couple with three young children, with the sellers moving into a retirement home

From January 1, downsizers aged 55 and over became eligible to put $300,000 towards their superannuation nest egg from the proceeds of the sale of their home, or $600,000 per couple.

ABS data shows there were 461,009 (24.7 per cent) single person households in Queensland at the time of the 2021 census, up from 389,078 in 2016.

In Brisbane, the suburbs with the highest number of potential downsizers aged 50-59 years are Donnybrook, Summerholm, Bunya, Newport, Toorbul, Barellan Point, Samford Valley, Chambers Flat, Highvale and Woody Point.

Listed for sale, the owners of 9 Ruby Court, Bunya, are downsizing

On the Gold Coast, suburbs with the highest concentration of potential downsizers can be found in places like Springbrook, Tamborine, Tallabudgera Valley, Paradise Point and Jacobs Well - all suburbs coveted by growing families.

Going to auction on September 3 is 4 Frank Burg Court, Worongary, with the “motivated” sellers also downsizing.

PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati (Asti) Mardiasmo said downsizers were the “big winners” of the pandemic property boom.

“The boom we had, it was like a rocket,” Dr Mardiasmo said.

“They (downsizers) have seen significant capital growth but are going the other way, towards more affordable housing options.”

Her top picks for downsizers included inner city units in West End, East Brisbane, Indooroopilly and Teneriffe and masterplan developments in Morayfield, Deception Bay and Ripley.

In those suburbs, downsizers can pick up a smaller abode for between $385,000 and $730,000 and pocket the profits from the sale of their home for retirement.

LJ Hooker general manager network Stephen Mutton said downsizers selling in Brisbane’s inner suburbs could inject some significant sums into their superannuation by selling their under-utilised family home.

His top picks for downsizers were Broadbeach, Cleveland and Toowoomba.

Aerial photo of the Broadbeach skyline and Broadbeach beach, looking south, on the Gold Coast. Picture: Brendan Radke

For upsizers, the places where downsizers are sitting on half-empty goldmines are among the very suburbs where growing families want to upgrade.

Dr Mardiasmo’s top picks for aspirational upgraders were The Gap ($1.2m), Bridgeman Downs ($1.25m), Carindale ($1.25m), Camp Hill ($1.55m) and Ashgrove ($1,762,500).

Just three years ago, the median house price in The Gap was $730,000, according to PropTrack, with Census data showing that 15.3 per cent of dwellings in the suburb are lone person households.

In Ashgrove, the median house price in 2020 was $987,500, $775,000 less than now, with 20.8 per cent of properties being lone person households.

“The data clearly shows just how much the buying brackets have shifted, and significantly, in just a few years” Dr Mardiasmo said.

“Even first homebuyers who could once buy for $500,000 are priced out, with those buyers now looking to have to spend upwards of $700,000 in Brisbane.

“Downsizers, especially those who own outright, are the big winners.”

For sale, the owners of 11 Marwood Court, Ferny Hills, are ready to downsize and make their move, but leave behind a tastefully modernised home

But for those looking for a bigger home at more affordable prices, Dr Mardiasmo suggested looking to Bracken Ridge, Forest Lake, Warner, Greenbank and Wellington Point.

The PropTrack House Price Index shows that Brisbane house prices increased by 0.37 per cent in July to $742,000 on the back of high demand and limited new listings.

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35 Methil Street, Runcorn, was bought by two brothers for their parents who are downsizing for $1.188m. It had been owned by the same vendor since 1982.

LJ Hooker general manager network Stephen Mutton picked Stafford and Mitchelton as his top picks for upgraders in Brisbane.

“It’s (Stafford) at a cheaper price point (median of $900,000) than neighbouring Grange ($1.6m) and Gordon Park ($1.29m) but Stafford still enjoys many of the same recreational amenities,” he said.

He said Mitchelton also had a great village vibe and nearby amenities, but added that the suburbs median house price had “hit the $1 million mark”, up almost 60 per cent since the start of the pandemic.

Stafford has 33.3 per cent lone households, while Mitchelton has 24.4 per cent.

On the Gold Coast, the top spots for upgraders as chosen by PRD were Tallebudgera ($1.57m), followed by Burleigh Waters ($1.605m) Benowa ($1,617,500), Mermaid Waters ($1.728m) and Runaway Bay ($1.7m).

But for less than the median house price in Camp Hill and Tallebudgera, upgraders could get more bang for their buck in places like Palm Cove ($1.4m) and Clifton Beach ($925,000) in Cairns, or North Ward ($1,172,500) and Belgian Gardens ($800,000) in Townsville.

7 Jupiter Close, Clifton Beach, sold for $1.02m

Mr Mutton’s pick was Coombabah with its median house price of $675,000, adding that the suburb was close to the amenities in pricier suburbs.

Nearly 35 per cent of dwellings in Coombabah are lone households, according to the ABS.

13 Doreen Drive, Coombabah, sold for $835,000

The PropTrack Listings Report revealed there the total number of propeties listed for sale across Brisbane was close to 40 per cent below the prior decade average.

New listings fell 2.9 per cent in July compared to June, and are down 14 per cent compared to the same time last year.

In regional Queensland, new listings fell 11 per cent in July compared to June, and are down 16.2 per cent year-on-year.

PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said the current market, with more buyers than sellers, was an attractive one for vendors, but there were barriers.

“Brisbane prices are now also past their peak of last year,” he said.

Mr Moore said there were many spare bedrooms in older households, and freeing those properties up were one part of the housing affordability puzzle.

“However, one of the biggest barriers for many sellers is the cost of moving, with stamp duty a big burden for many, for not just first home buyers but also upsizers and downsizers,” he said.

“Reducing the costs of moving homes would have huge benefits to the whole housing market.

“People would be in a much better position to be able to move to a property that better suits their needs.”.