Brisbane suburbs to watch out for now that land tax is shelved

The shelving of the land tax in Queensland is expected to bring Brisbane back onto the radar of many investors. A study by BuyersBuyers listed 10 suburbs which are expected to gain traction among investors and buyers looking for a house.

BuyersBuyers CEO Doron Peleg said detached homes are the property of choice for buyers in Brisbane with the requisite budget.

“We have listed out our top 10 suburb picks for Brisbane for investors looking to buy a house with budgets ranging from $700,000 to $1,200,000 — it’s important to note that there are always properties worth considering well below the suburb’s median price,” he said.

BuyersBuyers co-founder Pete Wargent said these suburbs includes range of middle-ring suburbs where buyers can negotiate attractive deals in the current market.

"Vacancy rates are low in the suburbs we have highlighted, and there is very little risk of oversupply in most landlocked areas in Brisbane, as population growth from overseas migration picks up rapidly,” he said.

Downturn still persists in Brisbane

Mr Wargent said while the Brisbane market has been a strong performer over the recent years, it still is currently in the downturn phase.

“To generate a strong result over the next decade out to the Brisbane Olympics in 2032 it will be very important to buy the right property, and at the right price,” he said.

According to PropTrack, Brisbane reported the biggest monthly decline in median home value in September at 0.29%. On a yearly basis, however, the city’s median value over the month was 11.65% higher.

Mr Wargent said over recent months there has been a huge amount of uncertainty over the future of land tax legislation in Queensland.

“As such, some existing landlords were preparing to sell their properties to avoid being slugged with thousands of extra dollars per annum in land tax and new investors were simply opting to stay away, instead choosing to look at investing elsewhere,” he said.

Mr Wargent said with the shelving of the land tax, investor activity are likely to regain traction in Queensland again.

“As we’ve pointed out before, the land tax changes weren’t logical, and were set to add further pressures onto an already chronically tight rental market.”

Mr Wargent said the sentiment was cooler in Brisbane compared to last year and prices have already come down in some cases.

“There are certainly many cases of notable price drops in Brisbane now, particularly for B-grade and C-grade properties which need significant decoration or renovation work,” he said.

Still, some properties were able to maintain their values, particularly those in popular locations, such as Kedron to the north of Brisbane CBD.

“Another notable trend in Brisbane this year has been a shift in demand to townhouses and units in blue chip areas, reflecting reduced borrowing capacity and affordability constraints,” he said.

“House prices have significantly outperformed attached dwellings in Brisbane over the past dozen years, but the gap is closing a little now, at least in terms of the median price.”

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