No suburb snobbery in Brisbane ' '
Sun Herald
Sunday July 26, 2009
Whilst there used to be that north of the river, south of the river divide, I don't think that exists any more. SUBURB snobbery that has been causing housing affordability problems in Sydney is non-existent in "egalitarian" Brisbane, say real-estate experts.BIS Shrapnel property forecaster Robert Mellor said last week Sydney people were totally preoccupied with where they lived and needed to trade down their expectations, or face ever-increasing housing affordability problems.BIS Shrapnel's senior project manager, Angie Zigomanis, said Brisbanites were usually more realistic in their real-estate expectations and concerned more about issues of affordability and access to infrastructure than living in prestigious areas."Every big city has got its less expensive and its sought-after areas," he said. "But the big difference is there is a much larger disparity in incomes in Sydney. In that sense Brisbane is a bit more egalitarian."Despite the city being divided historically by the Brisbane River, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland's managing director, Dan Molloy, said the Queensland capital had nothing like the Sydney split between the sought-after eastern suburbs and the city's more affordable west and south-west."Whilst there used to be that north-of-the-river, south-of-the-river divide, I don't think that exists as much any more," Mr Molloy said."People's decisions are drawn more by access to infrastructure and affordability."The only issue is the desire to buy home units close to the city."But this is a lifestyle choice, to be close to amenities and work, more than any perception of 'snob value'."Mr Molloy identified much of this real-estate activity in the inner suburbs of Coorparoo and Greenslopes as well as $325,000 to $400,000 units on the northside along Sandgate Road and Nundah areas that have been particularly active despite the slowdown in the market over the past 12 to 18 months.He said the institute expected median prices in Brisbane to remain at their present level for the next 12 months, with the possibility of some small growth."Basically, prices are flat," he said."We had significant price growth in 2007, some of that growth went into 2008, but during this year there was only a 0.61 per cent increase from March '08 to March '09, compared to growth figures in 2007 of 20 per cent. We're expecting a continuation of how the market has been performing, with the possibility of some moderate growth through investors moving back into the market and the improving economy."The good news is the Queensland economy is still proving to be reasonably resilient and the Queensland property market has come through the last 12 months largely unscathed."In a report released last month, Mr Zigomanis predicted modest price growth, of less than 5 per cent, to return over the course of the current financial year, before a strong increase in the following 12 months."We expect prices to pick up more strongly from 2010-11, as economic growth gathers momentum nationally," he said."Over the three-year period to 2012, the median house price is forecast to rise by a total of 16 per cent, or 6 per cent in real terms."
© 2009 Sun Herald
