Demand for homes stays high in 1 state while the rest fall back
Rising interest rates have eased demand from potential buyers, which has been reflected in the slowing of home price growth. But one state is proving to buck the trend.
PropTrack’s latest Potential Buyers Index, which measures the number of people seriously interested in acquiring property, showed that demand has been trending downwards since March this year.
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A number of factors have spurred this change, most notably interest rate hikes, which saw lenders increase mortgage rates beginning in November 2021.
Only in Queensland has the appetite for buying remained high, with Megan Lieu, an economic analyst for PropTrack, reporting that “interest in Queensland homes has skyrocketed over the past 12 months”.
Buyers in the Sunshine State, while under the same increasing financial pressures as the rest of the country, have seemed to push on with their purchasing plans while the other states and territories fell back.
Ms Lieu noted that while demand is slipping across the country, it still remains 50 per cent higher than during the pre-COVID period in early 2020.
Positing some reasons for Queensland’s continued popularity, Ms Lieu noted that the state’s regional areas are driving much of its strong showing.
“Regional Queensland made up the majority of the top 15 potential buyer growth regions,” she noted of the results of the recent report.
Only two NSW localities and one West Australian region managed to nudge into the top 15, with the rest all dominated by Queensland.
Indeed, the state took out the top five positions for highest potential growth regions. They were:
- Far north – 64 per cent
- Central Highlands – 50 per cent
- Bowen Basin, north – 47 per cent
- Biloela – 44 per cent
- Innisfail, Cassowary Coast – 43 per cent
“With Brisbane median house values nearing $800,000, many Australians are now flocking to regional Queensland for more affordable options,” Ms Lieu added.
Recent price growth in regional areas reflects this ongoing interest.
Regional Queensland (which includes the Gold Coast) saw prices rise by 24 per cent over the past year – the third-highest pace across greater capital city regions.
Units, in particular, proved popular, with apartments in Queensland experiencing the highest annual and monthly growth, up 22.3 per cent among all regions and capital cities.
While ultimately, demand is expected to trend downward across the country in the months ahead, Ms Lieu noted that not all markets would conform to this trajectory. Queensland, she suggested, could continue to be a national outlier.