QLD Is now a good time to buy in Brisbane?

Is now a good time to buy?

I am considering buying my first investment property in Brisbane. The unit i selected has 5% yield. My only concern is that property prices will drop further later this year and start of 2021

 

It may help to just give a rough idea of the location and number of units in the complex and land area.as I have been looking for one of the family for the past month and anything on above 800 sqms with less then 5_6 walk-ups are not going down in price ..imho.

 

Hey there....I would be more concerned about the type of asset you are looking to buy rather than the timing of the purchase. Units in Brisbane tend not to be good investments- The new unit market has been oversupplied for many years, and as such has delivered very poor capital growth (broadly speaking).

I only buy houses in Brisbane. My buy matrix by major capital city looks something like this.

Sydney: Houses, Townhouses, Units (Selected only)
Melbourne: Houses, Townhouses/ Villa's
Brisbane: Houses

My view only. There may be a case for established older style walk ups in blue chip/ riverside suburbs, but I'll be sticking with houses for now.

 

Bearish view here, but I would say no, overall it in not a good time. All the house price indexes, Brisbane includes, are rolling over to falling at the moment and it is looking increasingly likely we are about to get a second wave that has the potential to be greater than the first. I think there is no harm using the next few months to see where things are heading, building cash and refining your target to purchase.

 

The first point which others have already pointed out - be very cautious about buying UNITS in Brisbane. Different to Sydney & Melbourne, QLDers are not into apartment living so if you want to safeguard yourself best to go for house instead.

Second point - you're asking because you're trying to time the market or you're just not confident about property prospects in the long run. No one has a crystal ball so who know whether price will continue to trend down or hold still.

Now I’m terrible at timing the market. So my personal approach has always been rather than trying to time when the bottom of the market is/will be, I prefer to accumulate assets when I can and hold for long term. That to me is called investing and that’s how the Baby Boomers are able to accumulate wealth through property in the long run - whether it's through their own home or IP.

Cheers,
David

 

I agree with the above posts. Brisbane is not one property market and units and houses are performing quite differently at the moment. You must consider the vacancy rates for the product type and the area before considering an investment purchase in Brisbane because there is high risk in the inner city CBD market at the moment - vacancy rates have continued to climb over the last 3 months (Vacancy as at June 30 = 14% in the CBD!). Asking rents in some areas have also taken a dive over the last quarter and this is different for houses and units in many locations across the city.
That said, we are seeing upward price pressure in other areas. Some locations have vacancy rates less than 1.5% right now and there has been strong rental price growth over the last 3 months in some locations.

Cheers,
Melinda

 

Hey all, thanks for your feedback, I used your points as part of my pro/cons lists. I did do a virtual walkthrough, I am in Melbourne anyway so no stress there, though I would have liked to have flown to Qld to check out the property (and others).

I did do a virtual tour and the agent did say they have had an offer. After speaking with my banker for their personal opinion i asked "part of me says I should jump at the opportunity the other says wait until feb/march when banks start closing in on bad debts" her only reply was "that is what they are saying feb/march prices may go down, I don't know"

So based on that and the feedback here I decided not to make an offer. There was no price guide for the property though I did see it last sold for $300K and there have been internal renovations since. I assume the offer that had been made by someone else was below what the seller wanted as the property now has a price guide on it. the listing is here https://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-qld-clayfield-133829330

I note with the uncertainty my gut told me an offer would have been around $275K though my better half was thinking $330k which I also dismissed.

 

I must say, I always hate the "is now a good time to buy" question. A few reasons, but mainly because it assumes we know things about your circumstances and the market that we couldn't possibly know.

If the real question you are asking is, "is property going to go down from here?" I suppose that is more specific and easier to answer. But again, we don't know.

I would just make three points acknowledging my complete ignorance of the future and of the Brisbane market:

1) You are not buying "the market", you are buying one property. So don't worry about the market, worry about the deal. And buy a good property, not something cheap, because after 30 years you won't remember if you paid +/-$10k.

2) If you are a first home buyer - what are you waiting for? I can understand why people with large portfolios and shorter time horizons have the luxury to wait it out for the right time. But let's face it, if you don't own any property at all, you don't have the luxury to wait to the right time - sorry. You get the market you are given - we all do.

3) Ignore price, and think "value". As Oscar Wilde said, people "know the price of everything and the value of nothing". Don't worry about the price - worry about buying something with enduring value, and the price will take care of itself.

 

I second the above comments but also want to add be careful of buying sight unseen without an advocate on the ground. There needs to be at least as much focus on the things you can control compared to those you cannot.

 

Hey just looked at the property and I must say avoid. Those units along Sandgate road in clayfield are a dime a dozen and are notorious for being robbed. Very noisy too and are likely to get low quality tenants. Honestly it looks expensive, unlikely to get much capital growth and body corporate, rates etc will chew up the yield. Honestly for that price I would look at Gordon Park or Even Lutwyche away from Lutwyche Road close to Kedron brook.

 

Im no expert, but this is just my opinion only.

You've stated you're in Melbourne, you're wanting to invest, you're asking if its a good time etc.

Logically wouldn't Melbourne be the best place to buy soon? The corona is smashing Melbourne the most there'll be so many people who have lost job/businesses destroyed in Melb vs other states.

Therefore causing flood sales? As people cannot afford to repay banks etc, small businesses relying on traffic lose out completely.

Not financial advice, just my opinion.

 

Hi all,

I live in Melbourne and am thinking about buying an investment property in Brisbane. I’ve stumbled across this house in Lutwyche. Should I buy?

https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-lutwyche-134132558

 

Too late. It is under contract, unless that is you?

 

Totally agree.

I believe there is another golden era coming after COVID gets sorted - so no rush.

 

Hi,
I would highly recommend just purchasing a house. Pending your budget you can purchase properties that have a 5% rental yeild and capital growth. There are also some suburbs in the Sunshine Coast providing the same return's. If you want have to share some recent purchases and results. Purchase one was in Arana Hills and second one was in Buderim.

 

You have to be quick in this pocket of Brisbane Demand is very strong and low listing volumes right now. It is a very competitive market. It is not unusual to see a property go to contract after the first open home.

 

This is what I am hearing from my buyer agent and my own observation.
The houses around the 5-10km from CBD are very hot with limited stock available.
Any splitter block - it is hot hot hot - multi bid offer auction like.
Any decent land size house with city or water / mountain view - gone in a flash too.
$500k to $800k price point is moving fast!

I am so broke right now.

 

No it wasn’t me unfortunately. It went in the first week apparently....

 

Not surprising .... that is very common in many parts of Brisbane at the moment