Brisbane has recently gained attention for its notable property price growth, surpassing both Sydney and Melbourne in this competitive landscape. Tim Lawless, an analyst with property data firm Core Logic, notes that the boom has increased property values and rents in the city. This boom has turned plenty of non-ACT based investor heads. Brisbane’s housing market is hot, as illustrated by the city’s vacancy rate of only 2.1 percent. This figure is well below the healthy market standard of just about 3.5 percent.
In the last twelve months, Brisbane’s rents have increased by a whopping 6.2 percent, higher than the national average of 5.2 percent 【8†source】. This increase amounts to almost $16,000 over the last property, indicative of healthy market demand for housing in the county. Lawless signals out a key undertaking in Brisbane’s actual property market. Just in December, the average property value jumped up nearly 1.6 percent, solidifying the city’s reputation as a hotbed for real estate investment.
Factors Driving Growth
In fact, Brisbane’s property market can attribute a lot of its current momentum to this magic formula of low supply and high population growth. Lawless cautions that interstate migration into south-east Queensland is still strong and continues to drive housing demand. He comments on the residential growth boom that can be observed in other areas, saying,
“Toowoomba, the Granite Belt, the eastern area of the Darling Downs — they’ve all seen housing values rise between 18 and 20 percent over the past 12 months.” – Tim Lawless
The implications of this migration trend are major as it exacerbates the pressure on an already tight housing market. Lawless emphasizes that the apartment sector is the most appealing to investors. Most importantly, they are actively looking for opportunities here due to our competitive low vacancy rates.
The booming apartment market in Brisbane, where the vacancy rate is just 1.4 percent. Even more troubling is that this figure is only a tiny percentage above record lows! This is further emblematic of the rental market’s tightness. It suggests future growth is likely, as demand continues to outstrip supply.
Future Predictions and Market Sustainability
Even with the aggressive growth trajectory so far, Lawless has noted that Brisbane probably won’t be able to keep up with its extraordinary price growth pace in 2026. The specter of future interest rate increases might dampen this enthusiasm and take some of the steam out of the market. He thinks rates of growth will need to slow. He adds it would be surprising to see property values tank.
“I think there will be a slowing. But I don’t think we’ll see values going backwards simply because of the low supply in the market and population growth, particularly interstate migration coming into south-east Queensland that remains quite high. That, of course, supports demand.” – Tim Lawless
Despite all this good news, Lawless is, unsurprisingly, wary about how long this pace of growth can be sustained. He notes that “it’s clearly an unsustainable brand of growth we’re seeing across many Queensland markets, not just Brisbane,” suggesting that while current trends are positive for homeowners, they may lead to increasing frustration for potential buyers.
The Unaffordability Challenge
Brisbane’s affordability rankings are quickly climbing. As the fourth most unaffordable city in the world, this shift has changed the city into one of the most unaffordable places in Australia. Lawless comments on this transition by stating,
“Brisbane has gone from being a market that’s around the middle-to-lower end of the pack for affordability to one that’s now getting pretty close to one of the most unaffordable markets.” – Tim Lawless
This combination of rising property values and rental costs creates an uphill battle for many first-time home buyers. Lawless warns that while existing homeowners may benefit from increased equity and value appreciation, first-time buyers are likely to find it increasingly difficult to enter the market.
