Where to buy: The suburbs set to go off this spring

Brisbane’s prime property hot spots where the scales are tipped in favour of buyers this spring have been revealed.

Latest PropTrack data has uncovered suburbs where listings are on the rise, giving savvy househunters a strategic advantage as competition heats up among sellers.

But despite renewed activity in some areas, it remains slim pickings for River City buyers more broadly, with the number of properties listed for sale on realestate.com.au across Brisbane down 23 per cent in June, compared to in 2022.

PropTrack highlighted the top 20 suburbs where residential listings were up most over the last 3 months, with results spread across Greater Brisbane, both geographically and price-wise.

The emerging communities of Spring Mountain and Ripley in Ipswich ranked highly, recording 67 and 42 per cent more properties for sale.

Metro Brisbane suburbs ripe for buyers included Milton (up 48pc), Hendra (22pc), Newstead (18pc), Aspley (20pc), Auchenflower (24pc) and Riverhills (35pc).

Further out, listings were up in Ferny Grove (24pc), Heathwood (33pc), Logan Village (50pc), Newport (36pc) and Esk (35pc).

Rounding out the list: Kooralbyn, Greenbank, Karalee, Camira, Jimboomba, Elimbah, and Kilcoy.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore said stock had remained low since last year as homeowners held off selling while prices dipped on the back of 12 interest rate rises since May 2022.

“We’d normally expect activity to ramp up into spring, but we didn’t see that last year,” Mr Moore said.

“Across Brisbane and Queensland more broadly we are seeing fewer new properties coming to market, plus fewer total properties listed on realestate.com.au, and that means choice is fairly limited for buyers.”

But he noted “encouraging signs” of an uptick in activity, with the data uncovering plenty of places were buyers were comparatively spoiled for choice.

“Last year, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was raising interest rates very quickly, while today it looks like we might be at the peak, or if not maybe one or two more rate rises to go, so it is a very different environment and one in which buyers may have a bit more confidence about how much their mortgage repayments will be,” Mr Moore said.

“It is an environment that is probably supporting seller confidence, too, as we are actually seeing prices grow, particularly in Brisbane where prices now have fully recovered from the declines of last year.”

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PropTrack’s Property Market Outlook Report tipped Brisbane home prices to climb by up to 4 per cent by the end of 2023, noting the ongoing low supply of properties for sale had contributed to this year’s swift rebound.

“The rebound in property prices has occurred despite interest rates continuing to rise, reducing borrowing capacity,” report author Cameron Kusher said.

“From here, the direction of the housing market is likely to be influenced by the volume of stock available for sale.”

Latest monthly figures from SQM Research showed residential listings were down 4.4 per cent nationally, and 6.2pc in Brisbane, from June to July.

SQM’s data also recorded a 22.4 per cent fall in the number of distressed listings in Queensland in July, compared to 12 months ago.

“Our overall indicators do suggest a market that is finely balanced right now,” SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said.

Buyers’ agent Jordan Navybox, of Cohen Handler Queensland, said the city’s current most sought-after areas included Clayfield, New Farm and Paddington, along with Teneriffe’s apartment market.

“We’re seeing more volume in the market now than we were earlier this year across the board, both on and off-market,” Mr Navybox said.

“Stock is filtering through, though not enough to fill demand and there are still frustrated buyers who can’t find what they want.”

Mr Navybox said owner-occupiers were most active in the prestige market, while investors were seeking properties priced below $1m to capitalise on rising rents.

STRUD Property principal Jordan Strudwick tipped a “massive influx” of new properties hitting the market in the Ipswich region, providing greater choice for entry-level buyers in particular.

“While spring is always that time where a lot more listings come up, interest rates have held twice now and that has brought more confidence in the market,” Mr Strudwick said.

“Listings in this area have been at an all-time low over the last 2-3 months but we have done so many appraisals.

“We talk to our sellers about selling in isolation not competition, but come September/October there is going to be a massive influx of listings.”

Mr Strudwick said buyer demand remained strong, with young families and investors finding exceptional value in areas such as Ripley, where the median house price of $651,000 was up 12 per cent over the last 12 months.

BIGGEST INCREASE IN LISTINGS

Spring Mountain +67%

Logan Village +50%

Milton +48%

Ripley +42%

Newport +36%

Esk +35%

Riverhills +35%

Heathwood +33%

Kooralbyn +30%

Greenbank +30%

Karalee +29%

Camira +27%

Jimboomba +26%

Auchenflower +24%

Ferny Grove +24%

Hendra +22%

Aspley +20%

Elimbah +20%

Kilcoy +19%

Newstead +18%

BIGGEST FALL IN LISTINGS

Leichhardt -62%

Gaythorne -61%

Eatons Hill -59%

Crestmead -59%

Raceview -59%

Hawthorne -58%

Regents Park -57%

Sandstone Point -57%

Calamvale -55%

Holland Park -55%

Chermside West -54%

Beenleigh -54%

Loganholme -53%

Mount Cotton -53%

Dakabin -53%

Marsden -53%

Gordon Park -52%

Birkdale -51%

Springfield Lakes -50%

Cornubia -49%

* Source: PropTrack

The post Where to buy: The suburbs set to go off this spring appeared first on realestate.com.au.