Property Investment Brisbane
By anyone’s standards, Brisbane’s shaping up to become a goliath in the property investment market. But you’d never tackle a goliath without first knowing its strengths and weakness. That’s the key to taming the market and making property investment in Brisbane work for you… and for your bank balance.
Brisbane’s growing population
Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. In fact, more than 2 million people call the Brisbane Council’s Local Government Area home. It’s also located in the heavily-populated south-east corner of the state, meaning that it’s a vibrant and vital hub when it comes to business and commerce, government, administration, transportation and the economy for as many as 3.27 million people.
You’d be right in saying that Brisbane’s population is growing rapidly. Approximately a quarter of Queenslanders call Brisbane home. The Brisbane Local Government Area (LGA) recorded the highest level of population growth as compared to all of the other LGA’s in south-east Queensland in 2012-2013.
There was an average annual growth rate of 1.6% over the period 2009 – 2014 (sources: Population Growth Highlights and Trends, Queensland Regions, 2015 edition, Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, Queensland Treasury which you can find here, and Queensland Regional Profiles: Resident Profile for Brisbane City Council Local Government Area, Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, Queensland Treasury).
By 2036, you can expect that Brisbane’s population will be approximately 1,440,223. This rate of growth is fantastic news if you want to buy a Brisbane investment property. A growing population needs housing, services and infrastructure, and that can be accommodated via property investment. It’s a great time for you to get on board.
Location, location, location
One of Brisbane’s greatest strengths is its location. Straddling the meandering Brisbane River and Moreton Bay, it’s positioned near beautiful North Stradbroke Island and almost half way between the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coasts. That makes it the perfect stepping stone when it comes to domestic and international tourism.
The road and rail links to the port of Brisbane mean that it’s also a critical conduit linking the rich mineral and agricultural resources to its west with overseas markets. Of all Australian capital cities, Brisbane’s closest in terms of proximity to Asian markets, especially resource-hungry China.
Browse the range of Brisbane & Queensland property investment possibilities available right now.
Brisbane’s lifestyle
Brisbane is a great lifestyle destination, too. And it’s easy to see why when you look at its climate. According to the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane’s subtropical climate means that it enjoys mean (average) temperatures ranging from a minimum of 9.5°C in winter through to a maximum average of 29.1°C in summer. You can easily see how Brisbane has the edge over other Australian capitals such as Sydney and Melbourne when it comes to a sun loving, outdoors lifestyle.
Brisbane’s reputation as a lifestyle destination is also enhanced by its extensive arts and cultural precinct housing the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), museums, libraries and state-of-the-art sporting facilities. Several significant major sporting events and cultural festivals call Brisbane home.
When looking for the right Brisbane investment property for you, be sure that it really capitalises on these unique climate and lifestyle factors. Outdoor living options, space for storage of sports equipment and proximity to recreational facilities and public spaces are all good factors to keep in mind as you research.
The Queensland economy
Brisbane’s strong economy is another point you should consider when weighing up your Brisbane property investment options. The state of the economy is crucial to jobs and, in turn, levels of unemployment and related lifestyle concerns. You can connect the dots and see that a strong economy and its accompanying low unemployment rates is crucial to the success of your property investment plans in Brisbane.
The Queensland resources boom, driven in part by the mineral-rich Surat Basin is the main factor behind recent economic growth. But, that said, Brisbane’s far from being a one trick pony when it comes its economy. Tourism, mining, the retail sector, building and construction, government and administration services all play important roles in Brisbane’s strong economy. The Brisbane City Council has a plan in place to capitalise on planned economic growth. In fact, projections are that Brisbane will have a $217 billion economy by 2031. You can find out more about Brisbane’s economic development plan here.
Infrastructure
Currently, Brisbane’s at the heart of almost $40 billion in infrastructure projects. Infrastructure is a key factor influencing the property investment market here. It stimulates employment and trade and lends itself to strong economic growth. That’s why, if you’re to negotiate the Brisbane investment property market, you need to familiarise yourself with its infrastructure development plans.
It sounds like a mammoth task, but the information is actually a lot easier to access than you might think. Getting detailed, quality information relating to the plans for the improvement and expansion in Brisbane can mean the difference between a good Brisbane property investment and a great one. So, where do you access this information?
The Brisbane City Plan 2014 is the blueprint for the future development of Brisbane. It’s also an invaluable tool for exploring your Brisbane property investment options. It can be found on the Brisbane City Council website in the form of an ePlan. The site allows you to access interactive mapping. This means that you navigate your way around Brisbane and get an in-depth understanding of a particular area and how it fits in to the planning scheme. This equips you with the ability to see how zones, overlays, neighbourhood plans and priority infrastructure planning maps affect your investment options in any given area of Brisbane. You can access the ePlan and the interactive mapping function here.
It’s not just infrastructure projects in Brisbane itself that have a positive effect on property investment here. The Brisbane property market also has the potential to be buoyed by infrastructure development plans elsewhere, such as the 10.7 billion Inland Rail project due to be completed in 2025. It will link Brisbane to Sydney and Melbourne and greatly increase rail freight capacity along the eastern seaboard. Similarly, the $1.6 billion Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project will provide better access by road from the resource-rich Surat basin, the fertile agricultural holdings of the Darling Downs and the Port of Brisbane.
These projects will only continue to create jobs in Brisbane and consolidate its position as one of the safest bets for property investment.
Affordability
Increasing property clearance rates and a reduction in days on the market are indicative of Brisbane’s new status as a warming property market. You can also see evidence of this in the form of an all-time high of over 2400 residential building approvals in the quarter ending September 2015.
However, it’s not too late to capitalise on the Brisbane investment property market’s affordability. The median sale price for a new residential dwelling in Brisbane for the quarter ending 31 March 2015 was $590,000 and median price for vacant land stood at $335,000. You’ll be pleasantly surprised if you compare that to Sydney’s median house price, which currently stands at the million-dollar mark. A Brisbane investment property can still deliver great value for money, but it won’t be long before the warming market
sees Brisbane playing catch up with its southern counterparts.
Buying a Brisbane investment property now will also enable you to capitalise on current record-low interest rates for longer. Making a savvy property investment in Brisbane is as much about saving money as it is spending wisely. The current low cash rate will save you a fortune in the long run.
Brisbane investment property hotspots
Has all this got you excited about the investment property market in Brisbane? If so, there’s plenty of options open to you to make your Brisbane property investment dream come to fruition.
This high rate of population growth has been a driving force behind the opening up of land releases and residential developments on Brisbane’s outer fringes, such as Mango Hill and North Lakes to the north and Forest Lakes to the southwest. Improvements to the passenger railway lines and the addition of new train stations to the north, including an extension of the Caboolture line is a factor in the growth in this area. Brisbane’s population growth is also bankrolling a rejuvenation of the city centre and its entertainment and recreational facilities. In turn, this has made an inner city lifestyle much more desirable, creating a trend towards increased housing density in Brisbane’s inner city areas. It’s expected to lead to more apartment complex developments and property investment opportunities in the residential, retail and commercial sectors close to the Brisbane CBD.
In particular, Brisbane’s inner city is expected to benefit from an even higher level of anticipated annual population growth (2.5% per annum over the next two and a half decades) than the rest of Brisbane over the same period. That’s an indicator of great things to come if you invest now in some of the higher density, inner city housing projects, apartment complexes and commercial developments within a 10km radius of the Brisbane CBD.
Brisbane investment properties. Let Tandem 54 make it easy.
At Tandem 54 we can take hard work out of successful property investment in Brisbane. We know the local Brisbane investment property market and where it’s heading better than anyone else. Call us today on (07) 3861 9853.
