Brisbane residential market tipped for recovery: John McGrath

Brisbane is on track for a property market recovery in 2013 driven by strong employment and population growth coupled with a supply shortage and rising rents, according to John McGrath’s autumn property report.

A noticeable increase in buyer enquiries in the last quarter of 2012 bodes well for 2013, which McGrath says will act as a springboard for 2014 and 2015.

As first-home buyers have dropped off, investors from Sydney, Melbourne and locally are filling some of the void.

Buyers are particularly drawn to sub-$500,000 apartments and townhouses in Toowong, St Lucia and Paddington, with strong yields and low vacancy rates.

“The typical local upgrader is swapping a two bedroom workers’ cottage worth $600,000-$800,000 for a $1M-plus Queenslander. There’s not a lot of cross-town moving, as low interest rates and good value prices are enabling people to buy a larger home in inner city areas where they already live,” McGrath writes.

McGrath says downsizers remain active with many selling $1 million-plus family homes and buying a smaller $700,000 property and then reinvesting the remaining cash.

McGrath tips Hawthorne, Toowong and West End as top picks for investors in Brisbane.

“Hawthorne has undergone a huge transformation with the emergence of lifestyle amenities, food markets and café culture that’s attractive to families and young professionals. Watch this space as home renovators move in,” McGrath writes.

“Toowong, just 4km from CBD and less than five minutes to the St. Lucia campus, it’s attracting an investor market who want to capitalise on the demand from young professionals and students.

“West End is an urbane suburb with great café culture, it has that real inner-city feel. Close proximity to Southbank, there is a surge of development attracting both investors and owner-occupiers.”