In the second quarter of 2020, it was sunny Brisbane that took first place as the nation’s best performing prime residential market. (‘Prime market’ referring to the top 5% expensive properties).
Brisbane’s balmy lifestyle and high value (relative to other prime markets) put the city on the radar of wealthy expats around the globe, who were prompted to return home by the COVID pandemic. Which makes sense—if you had to spend an unknown length of time in lockdown and money is no issue, you may as well pick somewhere where the weather is nice.
This is reflected in the performance of prime residential property in Brisbane. Prices rose by 2.5% over twelve months, and by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year.
| Brisbane | Sydney | Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 2.5% | 3.0% | 1.2% |
| Q2 | 0.3% | 0.3% | -1.0% |
Brisbane tied with Sydney for capital gains in Q2, which is noteworthy because Sydney has previously outperformed Brisbane. But Brisbane has gained the lead in other areas. Rental yields on prime properties went up in Brisbane, when they were trending down in other Australian cities.
| Brisbane | Sydney | Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 6.9% | 2.2% | -0.1% |
| Q2 | 0.3% | 0.3% | -1.0% |
Brisbane is also an ‘affordable’ prime market, which is important during an unavoidable global recession. In Sydney, US$1 million gets you 51 internal square metres. Whereas in Brisbane, that same amount gets you 114 square metres.
The Brisbane prestige market has appeal to both upsizers and rightsizers, and offers great value. For these reasons, the Brisbane prime market has a lot of potential in the years to come. ∎
