Queensland real estate set for bumper 2015

I’m expecting the Queensland real estate market to be the one to watch in 2015, as it enjoys stronger market conditions in both Brisbane and regional centres.

And funnily enough, it’s the red hot housing markets in Sydney and Melbourne that are helping to drive demand in the Queensland capital, along with lower interest rates. This is because yield-hungry investors, who are being priced out of Sydney and Melbourne, are now looking north, where it’s still possible to buy investment properties for less than $180,000 in Brisbane’s south. This demand is now starting to drive up values in some Brisbane suburbs, a trend that I expect to continue throughout the year, especially if the Reserve Bank decides to cut rates early in the year.

But while market conditions are very much improving in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, investor money is also starting to chase further afield for the prospects of capital growth and decent yields in some of Queensland’s regional centres.

Major hubs such as Toowoomba are set to benefit from significant infrastructure improvements, while smaller centres such as Woodford and Kingaroy will enjoy the benefits of factors such as lower interest rates and the breaking drought.

Also, once we get past the Queensland election, which was recently called for 31 January, homeowners and investors considering the sale of a regional property in Queensland can expect excellent selling conditions in 2015.

In Toowoomba, the recent launch of the Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport will have a dramatic impact on the town’s economy and real estate markets. The airport will magnify Toowoomba’s excellent economic prospects as a regional hub by bringing more businesses, tourists and investors to the town, which in turn will underpin real estate values and rental yields.

Low interest rates and strong rents are also giving investors a rare opportunity to positively or neutrally gear an investment property in Woodford, in Queensland’s Moreton Bay region. Investors chasing strong yields will enter the market in greater numbers in 2015, as prices bottom out and rental growth continues.

In the South Burnett region, Kingaroy’s appeal to investors is driven by the town’s real estate affordability, which is a by-product of the 2014 drought, although property values could appreciate by as much as 5% in 2015. An increase in rainfall bodes well for real estate markets in the area, and if the rain continues, the business and real estate prospects for the region look very good over the course of the year.