With the overly sensational national news reporting catastrophes to come for the Australian property market. The question on most people’s minds is, “is this a good time to buy a Brisbane apartment?”
It will come as no surprise to anyone that the current market sentiment is not exactly positive. The confidence among property professionals has sunk to new lows according to the NAB Residential Property Survey from Q4 2018, but is it all doom and gloom? A closer look at the data shows that the New South Wales and Victoria markets are responsible for the majority of the panic, and the forecasts are predicting the worst is still to come for these major markets, with peak-to-trough declines of around 15% predicted for both over the next few years.
Putting Sydney and Melbourne aside, Perth is also likely to see some further declines, but Adelaide, Hobart and Brisbane are predicted to remain largely flat. As investors retreat across the country, the market lies in the hands of owner occupiers and first-home buyers to pick up the slack. Although this trend is often blamed on the tightening of foreign lending restrictions for overseas investors, it’s the domestic investors that seem to be equally as culpable for the downturn. Property professionals in all states are citing this as a result of the banks full “crack down on credit”, regardless of the borrower’s country of origin.
It’s important to understand that a decrease in price over the next few years doesn’t mean a overwhelming crash is imminent. For the East-coast markets, and specifically Queensland, the flattening market can be seen as a natural correction to the steep run-up in house prices over the last five years.
When looking at the Australian property market as a whole
Within Q4 of 2018 alone, the Australian property market fell 11 points on the Residential Property Index down to -20. Even though market confidence in Queensland has decreased from 21 to 8 in Q4, the Sunshine State is the only area to report a positive reading, with an abysmal -28 for Victoria and -50 for New South Wales also recorded.
Solid population growth in Queensland, including a large chunk of interstate
For those buying a Brisbane apartment in 2019, try not to get scared and bury your head in the sand. For Queenslanders looking to buy
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