Hottest Brisbane market is in the middle-ring: Terry Ryder

The hottest market across Brisbane is the middle-ring precinct on the city’s southside.

There’s been quite a chorus of commentators suggesting that, with Sydney having almost exhausted its three-year ride at the top, that Brisbane and South East Queensland is the next market to demand the focus of buyers.

At Hotspotting we tend to agree with that, although Brisbane sales activity has been elevated for some time now. It just hasn’t shown up yet in the generalised figure that describes the price growth rate for the entire city, although individual precincts have had good growth.

Brisbane’s recovery, in terms or rising sales volumes, began in the middle-ring suburbs north of the CBD – the precinct I call Brisbane Northside – about 18 months ago. This has translated into double-digit growth in median prices in many of the Brisbane Northside suburbs.

More recently, the focus has switched to the south. A year or so ago, Logan City (the LGA which covers the urban landscape between Brisbane City and Gold Coast City) began to rise. The Price Predictor Index nominated Logan City as the No.1 municipality in Australia in terms of the number of suburbs with rising sales volumes, for both the December 2014 and March 2015 quarters.

Then in the June Quarter Brisbane Southside surged and is now level with Logan City in terms of growth suburbs.

In the past week the Hotspotting team has been researching properties on the market in the middle-ring suburbs in the Brisbane Southside precinct and has found properties listed online are going under contract with startling speed. Most of the homes we targeted a week ago have sold since.

Other sectors across the Brisbane metropolitan area also have elevated activity, but properties are not selling as quickly as they are in the Southside precinct.

This area includes a range of middle market suburbs and affordable suburbs south of the CBD.

Typical suburbs include Greenslopes (median house price $585,000), Holland Park ($630,000), Annerley ($640,000), Mount Gravatt ($555,000), Sunnybank ($660,000), Sunnybank Hills ($560,000), Robertson ($720,000), Eight Miles Plains ($625,000). 

Cheaper locations include Algester ($460,000), Oxley ($490,000) and Coopers Plains ($490,000). The most affordable options include Inala ($310,000), Darra ($340,000) and Acacia Ridge ($350,000).

Some suburbs have unit/townhouse markets with affordable prices, including Greenslopes ($median $355,000), Holland Park ($290,000), Holland Park West ($380,000) and Annerley ($390,000). Many investors in this precinct are seeking opportunities to buy houses where there’s the ability to build duplexes or townhouses on the block.

These areas are generally well-serviced by major roads, including the Pacific Motorway, and some have commuter train stations linking north the Brisbane CBD and south to the Gold Coast.

One of the standout regions within this precinct is the one centred on Nathan, where there is Griffith University, Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital, Westfield Garden City shopping centre and quick access to the Pacific Motorway. 

Macgregor (median house price $660,000) is well positioned to access those amenities.

Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au. You can email him or follow him on Twitter.