Queensland’s property and rental markets are set to soar from one of the biggest southern migrations in history, with reports of interstate home hunters heading north.
Property punters say the sunshine state, and particularly Brisbane, is on track for a record-breaking summer with holiday vacancy rates plummeting to zero amid a red-hot real estate market. Ray White New Farm principal, Marr Lancashire, noticed the surge in interstate home hunters mere hours after the border re-opening and says that the strength of the new migration trend is on the rise.
“I have got a list of 30 or 40 buyers who want to come to Brisbane … and one of the greatest things I have heard is that the first flight out of Melbourne on December 1 was a domestic A380 (to Brisbane) and it was full,” Mr Lancashire said.
“COVID has done wonders for our market, and we’ve had our biggest year of sales yet. We sold over $100 million in just half a year alone, and I reckon I’ll get $200 million by the end of the year.”
Mr Lancashire said the level of interstate and overseas migration to Brisbane alone was unprecedented, with the city set to topple Melbourne for liveability thanks to the affordability of homes and the laidback lifestyle on offer.
He said the appetite for high-end homes had also sparked a domino effect into the prestige rental market, with some buyers forking out thousands per week in rent while they waited for the right home.
“High-end rentals and high-end sales – everything is just going bananas … I had eight auctions on Saturday, and I sold seven,” Mr Lancashire said.
Holiday Homes Also Seeing a Big Boom
Even before the borders re-opened, industry experts said the sector was saved by locals who were spending hefty amounts to holiday in their own backyard.
Mark Beale, from Ray White Whitsunday, says that after their property industry stopped moving mid-year, both sales and holiday rentals have soared since the re-opening. $2 million in properties were sold in the last month alone, giving the agency a record breaking week.
“A lot of people are now booking their flights and coming up here because they are not travelling overseas … instead of spending $50,000 on that trip abroad they’re saying ‘let’s put that towards a holiday (on the Whitsundays),” Mr. Beale said.
Emily Thomas, from LJ Hooker Peregian Beach, said that while interstate families were quick to take up the mantle, it was Brisbane locals who brought the holiday rental market back to life in September, prior to borders re-opening.
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