Brisbane market moves from rentals to sales

By Rich Harvey, CEO, propertybuyer.com.au

While its rental market is beginning to falter, house sales are on the rise in Queensland, making now an ideal time for Brisbane property investment.

According to a recent press release from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), the majority of the state experienced higher vacancy rates during December 2013 when compared to the past three months.

"Over the past few years, it has been the rental sector which has been the better-performing segment of the market," said REIQ Chairman Rob Honeycombe.

"Now while the sales market returns to healthy levels of activity after a period of subdued volumes, the rental market is experiencing a slight easing of vacancy rates after a long period of tight rental conditions."

The organisation went on to state that in the Brisbane City local government area, the vacancy rate reached 3.2 per cent at the end of December, up from 2.3 per cent during September. While a vacancy rate of around 3 per cent is designated as representing healthy levels of supply and demand, it's clear that the trend at the moment is toward more vacancies.

Meanwhile, a separate report from Australian Property Monitors (APM) shows that the median house price is set to have increased up to 5 per cent in Brisbane throughout 2013 - the best annual result since 2010.

APM Senior Economist Dr Andrew Wilson stated in the report that the Brisbane housing market will "continue to move solidly though recovery mode in 2014 as the Queensland economy reactivates through a lower dollar environment".

These figures would seem to indicate that the smart move for Queensland investment property at the moment is outside the rental sector, making detached house sales a safer bet for those considering Brisbane property investment.