How the 2011 floods hit Brisbane’s property market, and what will happen this time after last fortnight’s flood?
Torrential rain that sparked widespread flooding across south-east Queensland won’t dampen the region’s booming property market, experts say, with interstate and overseas buyer rates still on the rise.
Despite some homes in Brisbane’s flood-prone zones suffering complete inundation for the second time in 11 years, industry figures believe property prices are too resilient to falter, with historical data from the city’s flood-hit suburbs revealing medians in some pockets more than doubled between 2011 and 2021.
Domain data showed severely impacted suburbs such as Graceville and St Lucia clocked a slight median house price drop of 1.5 and 3.7 per cent to $650,000 and $780,000 in the 12 months after the 2011 floods, only to climb 107.7 per cent to $1.35 million and 101.3 per cent to $1.57 million, respectively, by December 2021.
House prices in West End, another of the city’s hardest flood-hit suburbs, saw a 7.5 per cent price spike to $747,000 just a year after the 2011 floods – a figure that far outperformed Brisbane’s then overall 0.8 per cent annual rise to $439,395. By December 2021, West End house medians had soared by 87.4 per cent to $1.4 million.
Domain head of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said while property prices in afflicted areas could again take a short-term loss, Brisbane’s unshakeable market would ensure home values were resilient long-term.
“There will be an impact – particularly if someone was flooded and they were looking to sell their home – but property prices are actually pretty resilient and it’s the land that holds the value,” Dr Powell said.
“The floods are going to hinder some sales but we can’t disregard the position of the Brisbane market. The market is hot … there’s strong demand for properties and this puts Brisbane in a strong position to recover.
PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo concurred, saying while the floods might temporarily shake market confidence, Brisbane had seen extraordinary property price growth since the onset of COVID-19, with even more to follow in the lead up to the 2032 Olympics, which were awarded to Brisbane last year.
“Historical data suggests that even in the most flood-impacted suburbs, property prices have continued to trend upwards, with a dip only experienced in the year after the floods,” Dr Mardiasmo said.
(Source SMH) (worth sharing)