COVID-19 Property Boom Pushes Up Prices on the Sunshine Coast

admin • December 2, 2020

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How Has COVID-19 Impacted The Sunshine Coast Property Market?

Covid-19 may have turned the tourism industry into a downward spiral, but the property market in Queensland has had almost the opposite effect.

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During the most challenging times of the pandemic, there has been every prediction under the sun circulating for the property market.

While it was first thought the pandemic was going to bring the property market to its knees, the latest reports and data coming from industry experts are suggesting an entirely different story, especially in Queensland.

Early in the year, banks and economists were predicting price falls of 10-25 per cent. Sensational media stories jumped on these findings and reported even bigger falls expected.

One of these examples was the 60 minutes story which sparked confrontation after they reported: “two-fifths of Australia’s home’s wealth would be wiped out in 12 months – and up to a 40 per cent drop in a year.”

New Data Showing Property Values On The Rise

However, new reports from leading property data firm CoreLogic have counter-balanced these claims, forecasting that the number of house sales in Brisbane has jumped 21 per cent in just one month. This is currently the most significant rise of any capital city, along with the Sunshine Coast also seeing substantial growth.

In an article by Property Observer, experts have said, “the Sunshine Coast is one of the strongest economic and real estate stories in the nation and that it continues to produce solid results in its property markets.”

According to their research, Sunshine Beach and Minyama have had notable lifts, and the median house price for Sunshine Beach has risen by 16 per cent in the last quarter.

Economists at Westpac have also backed up these claims, where they were forecasting price falls of 10 per cent at the start of the year and now are predicting a 20 per cent rise in Brisbane property prices over the next two years — the highest of any capital city.

So Why Is There More Of A Boom In The Sunshine State?

A number of factors have come together to drive up sales including low-interest rates, an increase in first-home buyers and other buys taking advantage of the work-from-home lifestyle shift, new homebuilders grants, job creation packages, infrastructure spending, a warmer climate and opening borders.

Queensland’s affordable lifestyle was already showing growth before the pandemic, but the pandemic has proven to give it an extra nudge. The federal budget announcements have also been beneficial to Queensland. There has been a couple of key items which have incentivised both investors and homebuyers to act now. These are:

HOMEBUILDER GRANT

Earlier in the year, the Government unveiled the new $25,000 Homebuilder grant package as an incentive to begin renovations or start building new homes.

INTEREST RATES CUTS

Home loan rates are at an all-time low with The Commonwealth Bank just announcing the move to be the first of the big four banks to make a history-making rate cut, slashing their fixed rate home rates but keeping variable rates stable.

Now they are offering a rate of 1.99 per cent over four years – the lowest ever advertised home loan rate ever offered by them. Borrowers, especially first home buyers, are taking advantage of this once-in-a-generation phenomenon.

INFRASTRUCTURE GREEN LIGHT

Another reason Queensland are set to benefit from the boom is the planned spending on infrastructure in the state. The Federal Budget made it clear all ‘shovel-ready’ projects will be fast-tracked. Queensland is set to see many infrastructure projects getting the green light from areas of the Gold Coast through to Townsville.