Atlas Market Insights

Queensland’s economic environment is very conducive to a boom, with an increase in population, increased labour force and affordable housing, which is a great recipe for upwards pressure on house prices. How are regional markets performing? Byron Bay is becoming an extremely expensive and exclusive market, attracting lots of people from capital cities. I look at this market and think “how much further can it go?” It has already seen extraordinary value gains and affordability constraints will mean that we might see surrounding areas increase in value. For example, Brunswick Heads, Ballina and the Hinterland areas are all becoming extremely popular. No doubt this ripple of demand will take place in metro markets as well as things normalise and employers start to embark on “work from work” programs instead of work from home. There is likely to be a lot of bounce back demand towards metro areas. If they haven’t seen values rising as quickly as regional markets, then at least the temporary affordability will attract buyers back. Previously regional markets and metro areas had a huge affordability gap, so I think this will equalise after a period of stronger performance outside of capitals. How is property supply trending at the moment? Inventory levels are at extreme lows for this time of the year. Selling conditions are excellent and auction clearance rates are high, but we are not seeing many vendors. There are a few possible explanations, one being that more people are choosing to renovate instead of moving. Another reason could be that more properties are selling off-market, so sales are strong but not all sales are coming from listed properties. Real estate agents have been reporting a rise in off-market sales, so this is likely. This drop could also reflect that we are amid a global pandemic, and despite confidence bouncing back rapidly, there is still reticence towards making a high commitment decision. This trend is expected to change through 2021, as there are already more properties coming to the market. 7