April Property Report

Housing values across the nation experienced the slowest growth reading since October 2020 during the month of April with Sydney and Melbourne trending into negative territory. Brisbane experienced a 1.7% increase for the month equating to 5.7% growth for the quarter but it is believed Brisbane has moved through its peak growth rate coming off 8.5% growth in December.This comes as the RBA announced earlier in the week that it is lifting the cash rate from 0.1% to 0.35%, an increase of 25 basis points.According to Tim Lawless, Research Director for RP Data said ‘It is expected with the recent increase to interest rates that the market will lose further momentum and experience a downturn through the remainder of the year and into 2023. However it is important to remember the context of the recent growth phase. Since the onset of the pandemic, national housing values have increased by 26.2%”.However REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella remains confident the Brisbane market will continue to perform well because the supply and demand in Brisbane is irrespective of the move in interest rates, with the CEO believing that Brisbane's Affordability compared to that of Sydney and Melbourne will be highlighted, and if anything; believes it will just make buyers rethink their requirements around property type and location and how much they are prepared to spend.The Brisbane market continues to record persistently low levels of property listings, almost 20% below levels from last year and close to 30% across the 5 year average, which means buyer competition is still there and stock absorption is high.In markets such as Sydney and Melbourne advertised stock levels have normalised resulting in less competition and demand and therefore a shift in negotiating power back towards the buyer. This will likely happen in Brisbane at some point too if supply and demand levels out.It will be interesting to see how the next few months fair now that the RBA has acted.