Painting by Jan Jorgensen.

The usual leisurely stroll the residential property sector takes into the new year is more like the amazing race this year with the momentum from 2020 swinging straight into January like a wrecking ball.  With even less stock on the market than December, buyers and renters alike are scrambling to secure dwellings with keen homebuyers and investors anxiously awaiting sellers to return home from their Christmas break and get their property on the market.

Despite COVID’s best attempts to dampen the economy in 2020, the year finished with strong signs of recovery giving economists the confidence to make some pretty bold growth forecasts for the housing sector with Brisbane pinned to grow nearly 10% this year according to CoreLogic. That’s halfway to Westpac’s suggestion back in October 2020 that Brisbane would see 20% growth in 2022 and 2023, while stagnating in 2021.

What’s on Brisbane’s side to have a thumper year in 2021:

• QLD is the best positioned state and has come out strongest off the back of COVID continuing to make it a very appealing sea change option for natives of the cooler markets like Melbourne and Sydney. Our southern friends are looking to Queensland not only for health benefits but for a lifestyle that might not otherwise be affordable in Sydney or Melbourne – this will continue to be of particular benefit to the prestige property market values at $2m +
• ABS numbers from November show that Brisbane was the only city to achieve significant interstate growth in the June quarter with 3,210 moving into the Brisbane while Sydney and Melbourne lost 5,964 and 7,957 respectively.
• The Brisbane apartment development sector is further along its lifecycle than that of Sydney and Melbourne meaning we’ll see less stock coming on the market pushing up the value.
• In November we saw the RBA cut the benchmark cash interest rate to 0.1%, a historic low, meaning there will be more buyers in the market with cash being cheaper to access.
• The government COVID stimulus package continues to support small business and positive consumer sentiment saving over 700,000 jobs nation-wide (source: RBA).
• The federal government has made it clear that the housing market will be a primary cornerstone for continued economy recovery in 2021.

Of course, it’s always important to consider what might not be in Brisbane’s favour for growth this year but I for one am excited to ride the coat tails of the facts that are working in our favour and if you’re in the same boat and are interested in selling your property I would love to offer you a free appraisal. Please contact me directly to book a time that works at alana@jacarandaproperties.com.au or 0427990277.