Building on steady growth
THERE is steady growth in the Toowoomba real estate market medium term, although there have been some short-term bumps in the road.
The annual median sale price of $352,000 is up from $350,000 in March, up 22.6% on five years ago and 23.5% for units.
However, both the house and unit markets fell in the past quarter, by 3.8% and 7.1% respectively.
For the June quarter the REIQ has moved Toowoomba’s unit market from steady to falling, as the data indicates early signs of contraction.
The unit market’s annual figures reveal a moderate fall of 3.2% over the past year, reaching a median sale price of $300,000.
REIQ Toowoomba zone chairman David Snow, of Peter Snow and Co Realty, said while quarterly figures gave a limited view of the market, there was a trend to be recognised within them.
“If you take a three-month trend as an overall indication, you aren’t getting the full story,” Mr Snow said.
“However, these quarterly results do indicate what agents know: that the market has slowed and in some instances prices have come back.
“As a general observation of the market, I would think that there has been fewer properties (at least 20%) for sale. There are fewer people listing their homes for sale, and I believe that there are fewer qualified buyers in the market.
“There is greater interest from first home buyers, and owner occupiers however there has been a reduction in interest from investors. This could be a result of banks tightening their restrictions.”
While Mr Snow would not hazard a projection at this stage, he said he would be surprised if the level of activity did not increase in coming months.
“October/November and February/March are the two periods where traditionally the greatest number of sales are transacting,” Mr Snow said.
“You will find a number of vendors who have kept their powder dry thus far will list their homes then. I would say industry-wide that there will be an increase in that period.”
The construction of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing has supported the strength of the property market over the past few years and in financial year 2018, the State Government has budgeted to invest about $292 million in infrastructure projects and the TSRC is the largest recipient of the funding.
A steady outlook for the house market is based on economic benefits flowing from the infrastructure projects.
“The TSRC will take the major transport out of Toowoomba, getting rid of the sounds and smell and congestion. This will have a significant effect on the areas affected by the current traffic, and I would be expecting those properties will immediately improve in desirability and therefore value,” he said.
“I would predict that the TSRC may promote the idea to people living in Ipswich and Greater Brisbane area, of moving to Toowoomba – paying 200K less than where they are living now. The next four–six months is absolutely critical to Toowoomba’s future.”