Ray White Agent's View of Brisbane apartment market

From an email from a Brisbane Ray White agent:

"The concerns for property owners for the next 12-18 months is that with around 23,000 new apartments under construction around the CBD & fringe, is that it will have a volcano effect and force property prices and rent down due to the over supply. 

We are seeing this happen at the moment in Surfers Paradise with 9/10 owners are losing money on their property. Sydney and Melbourne have already seen this happen. We are recommending it's crucial to have a think what your property plans are for the next few years. 

If you are having any thoughts of selling, don't hesitate to get in touch before it's too late. This new stock coming to the Brisbane market is not far away. 

Good news is! The market is strong at the moment."

Buying Activity and Capital Gains Not Strong

But not everyone is as optimistic about Queensland’s prospects.

Property analyst Louis Christopher of SQM Research said the state’s comparatively sluggish economy meant “buying activity hasn’t been strong”.

“If Brisbane is so good, why aren’t we seeing capital gains now?” he challenged.

“Yes, we are bullishly positive on the southeast Queensland market, and it’s a lot more affordable than Sydney — but there are reasons for that,” Mr Christopher said.

He said that the Queensland economy was still suffering from the austerity of the former Liberal Government, along with the mining downturn.  But there were hopes the new Labor Government would “open up its purse strings” and kickstart a recovery.

“There’s still a lot of stock about, and the economy is still quite patchy,” Mr Christopher said.

“Nevertheless, we are a little bit more positive on the market. We do agree it’s more affordable, on a rental basis and on an absolute price-to-wages basis.”

He said the Gold Coast was likely to see capital gains of between seven and 11 per cent over the next 12 months, but that Brisbane would be more restrained.

Source:  News.com.au