House prices climbed in the year leading to March

THE REIQ March quarter data found the Queensland residential property market posted positive results for the year ending March.

THE REIQ March quarter data found the Queensland residential property market posted positive results for the year ending March.

The REIQ March quarter median house price report shows the vast majority of local government areas across the state - 10 out of 12 major regions - recorded encouraging yearly results.

Toowoomba's median house price increased one per cent to $309,000 over the quarter and was up 2.4% over the year.

The numbers of enquiries and sales are certainly increasing in Toowoomba.

Properties priced between $300,000 and $400,000 are selling very quickly and we are seeing some multiple offer situations.

There is probably a slight shortage of stock in this price range at present because we can't always service the demand we have for this mid-range sort of property.

The region's low vacancy rate - which was 0.8% at the end of March - is one of the reasons why the market was currently in a sweet spot.

We also have a lot of investors interested in buying here due to the strength of our rental market.

The demand is such that some good properties are achieving more than the list price, which is a result we haven't seen a lot of over recent years.

A solid performer over the quarter was Darling Heights which posted median house price growth of 5.6% to $310,000.

Over the year ending March, a number of suburbs posted strong yearly median price increases.

Acreage properties in Middle Ridge, and houses in Rangeville and Wilsonton all recorded median price growth of 9.1% over the year.

Interestingly, these three suburbs pretty much represent the top and bottom spectrum of property prices that we have available in Toowoomba, which is a good sign of the overall health of our market.

In Brisbane, the median house price decreased marginally over the March quarter.

Its median price dipped one per cent to $515,000 over the period.

Over the year ending March, however, its median price increased by one per cent.

Originally published as House prices climbed in the year leading to March