EOQ WRAP

Can anyone tell me where the first quarter of the year went? It seems much of it has been spent publicly debating infrastructure spend as Brisbane races to become an international destination ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Our glorious city is the only Australian city to be recently named in Time Magazine’s annual list of world’s greatest places so our political leaders must be doing something right, although our enviable lifestyle, climate and proximity to some insanely beautiful natural wonders have always compared favourably on the international stage.

I couldn’t be happier with my team’s launch into 2023, as we amassed more than $40 million in sales across the three months (January-March). The highest of those occurring at the auction of ‘Soror’ at 10 Ludlow Street, Hamilton, which went for $6.4 million under the hammer at our hugely popular in-room auction event. It was the highest sale recorded on the day across the country and is yet another reminder of the strength in Brisbane’s prestige market. This sale was closely followed by the beautiful Queenslander at 45 Christian Street, Clayfield which sold for $6.2 Million under the hammer at auction.

Why is Brisbane real estate rocketing along while the likes of Sydney and Melbourne falter? Put simply, everyone wants to live here. Interstate migration is at an all-time high, with 1500 people arriving in south-east Queensland on a weekly basis. We had more than 100 groups inspect Soror across a four-week campaign prior to auction, with a large volume of that interest filtering in from interstate and overseas buyers.

Yes, we’ve copped ten consecutive interest rate rises on the chin, but the market is remaining buoyant because stock levels are down 20 per cent this year, while buyer enquiry has increased by 25 per cent so the supply-demand equation is flying beautifully in our favour. Again, interstate migration plays a role here. Case in point, the winning bidder on Soror was a local who was competing against two other interstate-based phone bidders.

Also adding some spice into the equation is a gravitation towards turn-key products/outstanding architectural builds because of ongoing uncertainty in regard to building costs. However, in saying this, all of the unrenovated properties we’ve sold in this recent quarter have attracted between five and 14 registered bidders, which are solid numbers.

To record more than $32 million worth of sales in the first three months of this year is, as I mentioned earlier, something to be proud of but not surprising to us. The Queen’s Wharf Development is a $2.6 billion investment in the city, which is impressive until we consider the $7 billion Olympic funding agreement between our federal and state governments. Everyone wants to live in Brisbane, tourists want to visit, and the world will be watching come 2032 when our city hosts the globe’s greatest athletes.

I hope you enjoyed the read.

Matt Lancashire