Brisbane unit market ‘a buyer’s market’

After reports by BIS Oxford Economics about Brisbane facing a unit oversupply, with around 20 per cent of its apartments remaining empty, Selena Corness, buyer’s agent at Universal Buyers Agent, said that right now is the right time for interested investors to enter into Brisbane’s market.

“Now is absolutely the time to buy and diversify your portfolio,” Ms Corness said.

“In the past 18 months, there have been a lot of new residential multi-storey unit complexes completed within a [two kilometre] radius of Brisbane CBD… [and] this has flooded the market and pushed prices down.”

As a result, Ms Corness said that buyers have panicked and pulled out. Investors can use this confusion to their advantage and find an entry point into the market via an affordable unit.

“By buying smart and taking advantage of the market, buyers are really in the driver’s seat,” the expert said.

“It’s a real ‘glass half full’ view — you could choose to see the doom and gloom side of the market and see it as half empty or appreciate it for what it is as a buyer: an opportunity.”

In order to enter the market, Ms Corness said that buyers need $300,000 in pre-approved finances, which will allow for investors to enter the premium markets of New Farm and Teneriffe.

“Not too long ago, living in these inner-city locations would have been a dream for most buyers, but now [that] prices are at the bottom end of the market, it’s a dream that can become a reality,” Ms Corness said.

“We know that prices will not continue to stay this low, so there is a lot of opportunit[ies] to make smart investments that will create great returns in the long term.”

As an example, Ms Corness pointed out how a unit developer cut its prices by nearly 25 per cent to try and sell its last units, from approximately $630,000 to $475,000, emphasising the room prices can grow back up to when the market corrects itself. However, deals such as this, she warns, are complicated to find.

“If you have $600,000 to invest in the Brisbane property market, my recommendation would be to split it and buy two units in different buildings aiming for an immediate minimum gross rental yield of 5.5 per cent,” Ms Corness said.

[Related: Apartments continue to dominate new construction projects]