Brisbane surpasses Melbourne for median dwelling value

Since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, home prices in Brisbane have experienced an astonishing surge. Over the past four years, property prices have soared by 50.2 per cent.

CoreLogic data revealed that last year ended with a new milestone for the Sunshine State’s capital. Despite severe storms in South-East Queensland, Brisbane’s median dwelling value for December 2023 hit $737,000, surpassing Melbourne for the first time since 2009.

According to CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen, a number of factors contributed to Brisbane’s resurgence.

“Despite recording a higher median dwelling value, Brisbane’s median house and unit values are still -$72,000 and -$49,000 below Melbourne’s medians, respectively,” said Ms Owen.

Brisbane has a markedly higher ratio of houses to units than in Melbourne, where higher-density communities are more common.

“Because units are generally lower value than detached houses, a higher proportion of units brings down the median dwelling across all houses and units,” explained Ms Owen.

A second reason for Brisbane’s property boom was the pandemic itself. Since March 2020, dwelling values in Brisbane rose over 50 per cent, whereas median prices in Melbourne rose just 11 per cent – the weakest of any Australian capital city.

“The normalisation of remote work for many professionals made interstate migration to Queensland more feasible, while Melbourne’s extended lockdowns from March 2020 through to October 2021 may have prompted people to leave the city,” said Ms Owen.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that interstate migration to Queensland peaked at 51,000 from March 2021 to March 2022. During the same period, net interstate migration to Victoria was -20,000.

In total, Brisbane’s population grew at more than double the rate of Melbourne’s in the year to June 2022.

Looking forward, Ms Owen forecast that Brisbane will still remain a seller’s market in the months to come, although the pace of monthly growth has admittedly eased.

“As home values in the city continue to rise, there is less claim to Brisbane being relatively affordable and some prospective investors may decide to remain in their city,” said Ms Owen.

“Recent weeks have also demonstrated there is some added risk to pockets of the Brisbane market from extreme weather and flooding, which could impact demand in the near term.”

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