House market outperforms units
THE Queensland house and unit markets continued their divergent trajectories in the 12 months to June 2017.
Generally, the house market substantially outperformed the unit market throughout the state, with a few notable exceptions.
The rental market tightened over the June quarter, with vacancies falling throughout the state.
The exceptions were Ipswich, Pine Rivers in Moreton Bay, Gladstone, Toowoomba, Livingstone and Scenic Rim.
Top performing markets
The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast SD (incorporating Sunshine Coast LGA and Noosa) are the top performing house and unit markets for the June quarter and these are also two of the three most expensive markets in Queensland (with Brisbane rounding out the top three).
House prices in these regions grew between 5.9 and 12.2% in the year to June 2017 and above 26 per cent over the past five years.
Unit prices reported a more moderate growth between 3 and 5.1% for the same period and between 15.7 and 17.8% over the medium-term.
Regional Queensland slower
The markets in regional Queensland are slower performers than their south-east corner counterparts over the past year and the past five years.
The annual median house price in Fraser Coast, Bundaberg, Cairns and Toowoomba increased moderately or held steady over the past 12 months.
Over the medium term, these markets also performed positively, which is remarkable considering the challenges faced by their regional economies.
Other regional house markets, including Rockhampton, Townsville, Mackay and Gladstone, have performed poorly over the past year and past five years, being heavily hit by the mining downturn.
Over the medium term, their annual median house prices fell between 9.3 and 37%.
The regional unit market has generally faced challenges, with falling demand contributing to the fall in unit prices. Only Cairns and Rockhampton reported a steady or modest increase in the annual median unit price over the past 12 months to June.
Over the medium term, the unit market in Bundaberg, Fraser Coast, Townsville, Mackay and Gladstone fell between 6.4 and 50.3%.