Housing affordability: Qld houses under $600k at new record low

Queensland’s housing affordability has hit a record low, with new data showing houses for sale under $600,000 have virtually disappeared in two major markets and shrunk dramatically elsewhere.

The days of buying a house under $600,000 are said to be numbered across wide swathes of Qld, but right now you can buy a 2.01ha Townsville property at 46 Fryers Road, Hervey Range, for $599,000.

Qld’s housing affordability has hit a record low, with new data showing houses for sale under $600,000 have virtually disappeared in two major markets and shrunk dramatically elsewhere.

South East Qld buyers have been hardest hit, with the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast seeing houses under $600,000 virtually disappear during the pandemic – falling to just a single digit percentage of new listings there – while only one in four in Brisbane are now in that price range.

PropTrack director economic research Cameron Kusher said the number of homes under $600,000 was continuing to shrink despite property prices having fallen nationally every month since March.

NOOSA: No houses in Noosa are currently listed on realestate.com.au for under $600,000 but this dual key two bedroom, two bathroom townhouse at 485 & 486/3 Hilton Tce, Tewantin, is priced at $575,000.

“Over time you’d expect there’s just going to be fewer and fewer properties sitting under that $600,000 price point. It reflects that challenge in the market where demand is well in excess of supply and that’s pushing prices higher … Fewer people are going to be able to afford to buy a house. That’s why we need to find ways to build better apartments, make them more liveable.”

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GOLD COAST: Marketed as "the cheapest four bedroom home in Pimpama", this dual bathroom, dual garage property at 18 Copper Parade is on a 405sq m block and priced at offers over $589,000.

The report saw a fresh record low in the number of Brisbane dwellings listed under $600,000 on realestate.com.au – just 37.9 per cent in October compared to 63.9 per cent at the start of the pandemic.

It was houses driving the bulk of that Brisbane drop, with those priced under $600,000 going from 58.6 per cent of new listings in March 2020 to 25.1 per cent in October 2022.

The worst affordability level for houses was on the Sunshine Coast where just 3.9 per cent were listed under $600,000 in October – a massive 36.6 percentage point collapse from March 2020.

BRISBANE: Described as a "rare opportunity" this three bedroom home at 18 Summerfield Street, Aspley, is on an 835sq m block and priced at offers over $599,000.

The Gold Coast is mirroring that trend, with houses under $600,000 falling to 4.7 per cent of new listings – a 30 percentage point fall between March 2020 and October 2022.

Four out of five houses in Cairns (80.7 per cent) were listed under $600,000 at the start of the pandemic, with the figure dropping to around three out of five (58.9 per cent) in October this year.

In Wide Bay, nine out of 10 houses were priced under $600,000 in March 2020, with the figure now sitting at six in every 10 (61.5 per cent).

CAIRNS: A four bedroom, two bathroom, dual car garage house at 42 Moore Road, Kewarra Beach, is on a 480sq m block near the beach and priced at $599,000.

Toowoomba has seen a similar shrinking, from 83.7 per cent to 60.3 per cent, while Mackay-Isaac-Whitsundays still has three quarters of its houses under $600,000 – though that’s down from 90 per cent in 2020.

“It’s a change. Most people grew up in a house. Most people still probably aspire to live in a house but the opportunity for people to own a house is reducing because price growth has been so strong,” Mr Kusher said. “It’s unlikely to be reversed … at least any time soon.”

He said it could potentially drive more people to the regions for home ownership, with places like Cairns and Townsville expected to see prices hold up more affordably over the next few years.

TOWNSVILLE: A 2.01ha "tropical mountain oasis" at 46 Fryers Road, Hervey Range, has a four-bedroom house on it with loads of room including a 20m long five bay shed, priced at $599,000.

“But again,” he warned, “longer term the trend is that we are going to see fewer properties under $600,000 coming to the market in those areas too.”

Across regional Queensland, which tends to have several months’ time lag on Brisbane results, homes under $600,000 are at a record low 49 per cent, dropping 21 percentage points since the start of the pandemic.

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Originally published as Housing affordability: Qld houses under $600k at new record low