Inner-city suburb’s whopping house price increase

HOME owners in this Brisbane suburb are laughing after the discovery its median house price has more than doubled in the past six years, while nearby suburbs have increased by more than 50 per cent.

Chandima and Neil Priyantha with their children Dinidu, 9, and Chanuka, 11. Picture: Peter Cronin

THIS Brisbane suburb’s median house price has more than doubled in the past six years.

According to CoreLogic, the median price for the South Brisbane in 2011 was $705,000, compared with $1.765 million today — a rise of more than 150 per cent.

West End and Highgate Hill house prices have also grown, by 52.2 per cent and 44.8 per cent respectively.

Ben Jackson from Metro City said a combination of factors led to the growth.

“A lot of houses in the suburb have been bought by developers for quite large amounts,” he said. “Another factor could be some of the streets around there have bigger blocks and especially some of the recent sales have been the larger homes.

“Or it could be just that people love being so close to the city and being in those school catchments.”

He said South Brisbane was an exclusive housing market because a limited number of homes came on the market each year.

The average hold period is about 11 years, with only 15 houses sold in the past year.

Neil Priyantha bought a character home in the suburb last May and said being in the school catchment area was an investment into his children’s future.

“We came from North Lakes so it’s a lot closer to the city,” he said.

“We have a comfortable life here and the children go to school in the area. It’s like a village.”