Covid-19: Winter lockdown sparks new exodus to the sun
Brisbane real estate agents prepare for another wave of buyers from Melbourne after the lifting of the latest Covid-19 lockdown.
Residential real estate agents in Brisbane are preparing for another wave of buyers from Melbourne following the lifting of the latest Covid-19 lockdown, adding to the broader influx into southeast Queensland over the past year.
Being locked at home over the past two weeks has caused many Melbourne locals to imagine the warmer weather on offer up north.
Place Estate Agents joint managing director Sarah Hackett said agents were working seven days a week fielding inquiries from southern buyers looking to get a rundown on the Brisbane market and the opportunities to buy.
“We’ve never experienced this before,” Ms Hackett said, referring to demand for property in the Queensland capital from both interstate and returning expats.
“It’s really the lifestyle that we are selling at the moment. Brisbane is still affordable for southern buyers and they often get more bang for buck.
“They all comment on the lack of traffic. Lifestyle is important, especially for kids. Schools here are half price compared to down south, even for the best schools in Brisbane.”
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in May shows Queensland received the majority of interstate migration in the past year, with December-quarter data noting an increase of 9763 net people who now call the Sunshine State home, seven times higher than the next-ranked state.
On a capital city basis, Brisbane gained 4770 net residents, which was a stark contrast to the net 8491 who fled Melbourne.
However, Brett Greensill of McGrath New Farm said that while inquiries from Melbourne had increased since the latest lockdown began, he believes some of it may just be impulsive.
“These buyers aren’t familiar with the market so it is the early inquiry into whether they want to move to Brisbane,” he said.
There was a precedent for the Melbourne exodus, explained Demographics Group founder Bernard Salt, who likened the current conditions to those seen following the 1991 recession. In the years after the economic crisis, it tool almost five years for the city to again have a positive net figure.
“Victorians have form in leaving their state in hard times,” Mr Salt said. “The 1991 recession was really quite significant. This (the pandemic) is a significant event which is being extended over a period of time, and who’s to say that this is the last of it?”
In the leafy inner-city Brisbane suburb of Bulimba, Nicole Hewartson and husband Mark are banking on interstate and expat interest to sell their renovated Queenslander. Six bidders have pre-registered for the auction on Saturday, several of whom are not locals.
“We were going to wait to sell next year once our son graduated school but decided to go now,” Ms Hewartson said.
“People have been talking about interstate migration to Queensland for the past six months so we were hoping for the interest in our home.”
But Mr Salt doesn’t think the movement away from Melbourne will last forever. He expects a new generation of residents will move there in the coming years as the pandemic becomes a memory, just as they did three decades ago.
“The people who leave may not be the ones who come back,” he said. “In the mid-1990s, it was the magnetism of Melbourne and all it had to offer that drew people in.”
He said investment in events and infrastructure would be needed to get things moving again.
More Coverage
Vested interests distort debate on super change
The Coalition has vowed that if it forms government this year it will allow people to access the so-called Australian Dream by taking up to $50,000 from their super fund for a deposit.
Receivers appointed to $300m apartment project
Receivers have been appointed to one of the largest apartment developments in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the $300m Nautique apartment block in Rushcutters Bay.