In this realestate.com.au article about the Brisbane property market, LJBA director Lauren Jones shared her insights about what to expect in 2024.

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“Brisbane house values could soar by up to 6 per cent next year, with the capital tipped to record some of the strongest growth in the nation.

Exclusive new research from PropTrack shows that home values in Brisbane increased 8.9 per cent in the 12 months to the end of November this year to reach a new record high, defying interest rate hike pressures and even initial forecasts of a downturn.

Influenced by a perfect storm of strong buyer demand, lack of stock, population growth and soaring construction costs, home values clawed back any losses post the boom, and hit new highs every month.

The report revealed that home values – both houses and units combined – in the River City edged another 0.2 per cent higher last month to hit a new peak of $775,000, which is 8.85 per cent higher than a year ago.

PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher said they were forecasting price growth of between 3 per cent and 6 per cent next year, on top of the 8.9 per cent increase in the first 11 months of 2023.

“Brisbane is expected to see some of the strongest price growth of all capital cities however, this forecast does represent a slowing of price growth compared to this year,” he said.

“We know higher interest rates act with a lag and the 425 basis points worth of rate hikes to-date will take time to fully impact borrowers.

“Furthermore, the unemployment rate is forecast to rise, and economic growth to slow, which may also dampen price growth.

“Finally, some of the key drivers of the rebound in price last year are unlikely to be as strong in 2024 as economic conditions weaken, namely the strong rebound in sales, the lift in buyer demand and the persistent low volume of stock available for sale.”

The PropTrack Property Market Outlook for December considered the current market trajectory, as well as predictions on housing supply, the direction of interest rates and the impact of rate rises to date.

The current total stock of properties for sale is historically low in Brisbane, sitting 38 per cent below its November decade average, the research revealed, with demand per listing on realestate.com.au up 63.2 per cent year-on-year.

The report tipped that the smaller capitals would be the biggest beneficiaries of home value increases, led by Perth (+5-8 per cent), Adelaide (+4-7 per cent) and Brisbane.

Harcourts Queensland chief executive Mitch Peereboom said Brisbane offered a sought-after lifestyle for a variety of people.

“We have seen less listings on the market over the past 12 months, so there has been less choice,” he said.

“But there has still been strong buyer interest wanting to capture the lifestyle in Brisbane, which has resulted in more competition and has obviously increased sale prices as a result.”

Mr Peereboom said sellers were listing their homes for sale with a lot of confidence because they know ready buyers are looking in Brisbane.

The report predicted that Sydney home would rise between 2 and 5 per cent, while Melbourne values are forecast to lift between 1 and 4 per cent.

Canberra (-1 per cent to +2 per cent), Hobart (-2 per cent to 1 per cent) and Darwin (-3 per cent to 0 per cent) could go either way.

The latest Sight Unseen report by virtual inspection platform Little Hinges revealed that southeast Queensland continued to attract the lion’s share of interstate eyeballs in October, led by the Gold Coast (35 per cent), Sunshine Coast (34 per cent) and Brisbane (28.9 per cent).

This compared to Perth (26.2 per cent), Melbourne (22.1 per cent) and Sydney (11.9 per cent).

“October was a banner month for Brisbane, with interstate buyer inspections peaking at 28.9 per cent, up from 25.6 per cent in September,” the report said.

The region also attracted the most international buyer interest in the nation, led by the Sunshine Coast (9.2 per cent), Gold Coast (8.5 per cent) and Brisbane (7.3 per cent).

Perth came in fourth spot with 6.7 per cent total share, followed by Sydney (6.1 per cent) and Melbourne (6.1 per cent).

Brisbane (25.8 per cent), the Sunshine Coast (27.9 per cent) and the Gold Coast (33 per cent) had also attracted the most interstate inspections by renters looking to make the move to the Sunshine State, the report revealed.

The race is now on for those looking to buy or sell ahead of Christmas, with just two weeks left before opportunities drop off for the year.

PropTrack data shows that there are 358 homes scheduled to go under the hammer by Sunday, up 3 per cent year-on-year.

Of those, 189 were scheduled across Brisbane and 169 in the regions.

The following week 340 are set to go under the hammer, down 4 per cent, year-on-year.

Between December 18 and December 23, just 66 auctions are scheduled across the state, down 85 per cent, year-on-year, according to PropTrack.

In a testament to the auction frenzy in Brisbane, an unliveable dump in Logan which had no reserve recently smashed the Australian record, attracting a mindblowing 161 registered bidders and over 500 spectators.

The Crestmead house sold under the hammer for $494,700.

But it is not just homebuyers expected to keep the blowtorch on Brisbane values, with Brisbane buyers agent Lauren Jones tipping that investors would also be on the hunt for local property.

“Despite interest rates remaining elevated and consumer confidence remaining low, there are still lots of eager buyers in Brisbane right now and it’s hard to see that changing anytime soon,” she said.”