"New apartment sales at $3 million-plus were a regular occurrence during 2023": Herron Todd White's Brisbane year in review

Brisbane's real estate picture, overall, shows stability, adaptability, and promising growth.

That's the view of Herron Todd White Director David Notley, who noted in the property valuation firm's 2023 Year in Review the Brisbane market experienced fluctuations over the year, but ultimately there are a lot of factors driving the market.

"When thinking about the things that surprised us this year, it’s hard to go past the ongoing strong demand for housing," Notley said.

"Yes, population growth and a rosy outlook leading to the 2032 Olympic Games all helps but given the interest rate rise cycle may not yet be quite over and that there might well still be some economic pain on the horizon, you might expect demand to slow a little. This simply hasn’t been the case and the recent uptick may well continue into next year as well."

Notley said while the beginning of 2023 delivered a little more stability following the RBA's 2022 interest rate rises, buyers still had some trepidation around when or if rates would rise again.

"Property owners weren’t keen to list their homes during a time of reduced buyer demand and uncertainty around the economy. However, the net effect was resilient property prices, remaining largely unaffected despite the temporary dip in activity.

"The pace picked up a little over mid-year. It would appear that some buyers who had delayed their plans were feeling a little more secure in the economic landscape.

"This strengthening in the market – both sales volumes and prices – has continued through to the end of the year. Some interesting statistics show how well we’ve performed in comparison to other capital cities, too. CoreLogic data to October reveals Brisbane’s rolling quarterly change in property values was greater than both Sydney and Melbourne as we tail out the year. But of course, markets are more nuanced than this with various price points, property types and locations all seeing different outcomes in 2023."

Notley said units and townhouses gained popularity among first-time buyers, offering an affordable entry into the property market. 

"Big money was also being regularly spent on the apartment market," Notley said.

"Downsizers/empty nesters who have done well riding Brisbane’s property wave over the past few decades were able to enjoy some very impressive living.

"New apartment sales – both completed and off-the-plan – at $3 million-plus price points were a regular occurrence during 2023."

Brisbane's population surge has intensified pressures on the tight rental market, with meagre vacancy rates of approximately 0.9%.

"That flags an extreme imbalance with very tight supply butting up against huge demand. As a direct result, there has been upward pressure on rents. This seems to have prompted some investors to re-enter this sector of the market over recent months, which is a good thing."

To address affordability concerns for first-time homebuyers, the state government recently announced a doubling of the first homeowner’s grant to $30,000, albeit limited to new builds.

"The bump will be enormously helpful to first-time buyers but might also drive up the price of property in certain locations. Activity in fringe estates or new stages in the growth corridors – such as Ripley out to the west of Brisbane – might pick up on the back of the announcement."