The Eureka Report Will Property Rise in the East? by Monique Sasson Wakelin January 2012
Brisbane
Last year was Brisbane’s annus horribilis. Truly a perfect storm of environmental and economic factors – particularly a fall in tourism due to the floods and strong dollar – combining to send property prices down around 7%. But really, when you think about it, that fall was remarkably measured given the circumstances.
Brisbane’s property market has demonstrated a fair degree of resilience in the face of adversity, and is also due to bounce back. There are signs that this is under way, according to Meighan Hetherington, director of Brisbane-based Property Pursuit.
“We find that a steady increase or decrease in our customer commitments usually foreshadows change in broader Brisbane market prices four or five months later,” she says. “We saw a big drop in investor commitment in November 2010, which correctly predicted negative price growth around April 2011.
“Throughout 2011 buyer commitments have remained relatively low. Enquiries have picked up since September 2011 and commitments have increased month on month since October. We believe this will translate to a steadying of prices throughout 2012, with mild growth back to 2010 levels.”
Although Brisbane still faces ongoing economic headwinds from the strong Australian dollar, I believe it will be well placed. Indeed, it may end up being the top performing market in 2012.
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