Queensland property market shows strength
The Queensland property market recorded its strongest number of house sales in nearly two years, according to the latest REIQ data.
House sales have increased over the past quarter, as well as the number of sales increasing by five per cent compared to the same period last year.
According to the RP Data blog, a sharp increase in activity in the September quarter was expected.
"Many of our REIQ members had reported that buyers were waiting for interest rates to reduce further and for the return of stamp duty concessions on 1 July this year," RP Data says.
"Historically, of course, the September quarter is the spring selling season so activity is usually higher than during winter, but it is very heartening to see that the numbers of sales is even up on the same period last year.
"There was a mix of median price increases and some reductions for major regions over the September quarter but this can partly be attributed to different compositions of sales occurring over the period. For example, if more affordable properties sell, the median house price will also be lower."
In Brisbane, the median house price increased by 1.6 per cent to $508,000. The number of house sales was also up more than 35 per cent compared to the June quarter.
The top performer of all major regions over the quarter was Mackay, which posted a median house price increase of 4.7 per cent to $445,000. Over the year, its median house price increased by 4.9 per cent.
Next was Redland City, which recorded a median house price increase of 2.7 per cent to $450,000.