An ageing block of units in Brisbane’s inner ring sold at auction for $345,000 more than it did just three months ago as investors swarmed on Brisbane’s sizzling property market.

The block of four units close to Greenslopes Private Hospital fetched $1.755m under the hammer on Saturday, a win for an investor who had paid $1.41m for it in April, according to CoreLogic records.

Masks aplenty at the auction of 16 Denman St, Greenslopes. Picture: Annette Dew

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Over 70 properties went under the hammer across Brisbane with good weather and the end of lockdown driving up attendance levels at properties popular with both investors and owner occupiers.

The block of units at 16 Denman Street, Greenslopes, had a land value of $850,000 in June last year, according to CoreLogic, with agents Denis Najzar and Melanie Swindells of Place Woolloongabba seeing seven bidders register for the auction.

“It sold for $1,755,000, a lot of buyers looking for this type of asset,” Mr Najzar said. “A local buyer bought it. Went on the market at $1,730,000 and then another buyer joined in at $1,740,000 and bidding finished $1,755,000.”

Auctioneer Peter Burgin fielding interest during the sale of the block of units. Picture: Annette Dew.

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The seven bedroom, four bathroom, four car park property – split into four units on an elevated 809sq m block – attracted strong investor interest ahead of the auction given its prime location in the Greenslopes shopping and hospital precinct. It currently brings in $1,205 a week in rent, with annual gross income at $62,660 and “scope to significantly improve”.

46 Whitworth Road, Cannon Hill, sold for $970,000.

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Owner occupiers were also out in full force, with the first auction of the day also one of the hottest landing “a crazy price” of $970,000 after 17 bidders registered.

Agent Tony O’Doherty took the house at 46 Whitworth Road, Cannon Hill, to auction after a strong campaign that saw a mix of interested buyers for the three bedder.

Auctioneer Justin Nickerson of Apollo Auctions saw bidding open at $800,000, then move to $850,000, $870,000, $880,000, $900,000 then move up in $10,000 increments to $940,000 before slowing to $5,000 bids to hit the winning result of $970,000.

36 Frasers Road, Mitchelton, sold for $697,000.

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Another three bedder at 36 Frasers Road, Mitchelton sold for $697,000 under the hammer as the area picks up speed. Agent Meghan McVeigh of Ray White Alderley saw over 40 people attend, with four registered bidders for the 607sq m block.

“The market is moving in Mitchelton and many buyers are looking to obtain a home in a high family valued area,” she said. “We had a successful marketing campaign and a very motivated seller. A short three week campaign with a Covid lockdown interruption and we still managed a fantastic result.”

New data shows the majority of homes across Queensland are now cheaper to buy than rent, driven by the cost of mortgages hitting rock bottom off Australia’s lowest interest rates ever.

Latest CoreLogic figures showed over 55 per cent of Brisbane homes and 73 per cent of those in regional Queensland were now cheaper to buy than rent, a significantly higher proportion than national data which came in at over a third (36 per cent).

6/261 Sheridan Street, Cairns North: 1 bed 1 bath 1 car apartment: Offers Over $84,000: Repayments would be $291 a month with a 20 per cent deposit.

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CoreLogic Research Director Tim Lawless said while some of the smaller capitals and ‘rest of state’ regions were showing a higher proportion of properties where it was cheaper to buy than rent, “compared with New South Wales and Victoria, Queensland is looking very affordable to buy”.

The CoreLogic report said “the analysis is a good reminder for renters to weigh up housing costs and savings, to see if it is time for a change in tenure”.

“If it makes more financial sense to pay for a mortgage than rent, renting households may have been triggered to look for something to buy as interest rates have fallen.”

64/19 Orchid Avenue, Surfers Paradise: 1 bed 1 Bath 71sq m unit: Offers over $269,000. Repayments would be about $1,140 a month with a 20 per cent deposit.

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“The average mortgage rate for owner occupiers taking out a new principal and interest loan in May was just 2.3 per cent; the lowest cost of debt on record,” Mr Lawless said.

He said healthier mortgage serviceability rates across Queensland came off softer housing market conditions that the state had experienced during previous growth cycles compared to NSW and Victoria.

“In fact, over the past ten years, Brisbane housing values have increased at a much lower rate than Sydney or Melbourne. Brisbane values are up 33 per cent since June 2011 compared with a 90 per cent rise in Sydney housing values and a 58 per cent lift in Melbourne housing values.”

4/120 Francis Street, West End, Townsville: 2 bed 1 bath 1 car 75sq m unit: Price $145,000 and estimated repayments would be $614 a month with a 20 per cent deposit.

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“The softer, but more sustainable, rate of growth in Brisbane housing values over the past decade has provided for a substantially more affordable housing market relative to the larger capitals.”

The calculations were based on an 80 per cent loan to valuation ratio (it assumed the buyer had a 20 per cent deposit saved), an interest rate of 2.4 per cent (based on the average new lending rate for owner occupiers reported by RBA at May 2021), and a 25 year loan term.

Analysis by Aussie with CoreLogic found there were 97 suburbs in Queensland where it was cheaper to buy than rent in March – with mortgage repayments lower than $250 a week. A dozen of those suburbs were in Brisbane with 85 spread out across regional Queensland.

Despite affordability constraints including a deposit hurdle, professional services or stamp duty payments, around 60.1 per cent of properties across Australia’s regional markets were now cheaper to buy than rent in terms of mortgage serviceability, while the for capital cities that applied to a quarter of properties.

Portion of properties cheaper to rent or buy

Place Cheaper to Buy Cheaper to Rent (%)

National 36.3% 63.7%

Investors have a golden opportunity to reap the rewards of the Coast’s rising property market in the lead-up to the Brisbane Olympics.

The 2032 host city announcement delivered an immediate buzz to the three event zones — Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast — with the Games expected to inject $8bn in benefits to Queensland.

Local property experts tipped increased investor confidence on the back of infrastructure upgrades, with planned transport links including the Coomera Connector and extension of the light rail.

More than 2,600 athletes and team officials will be housed at the proposed satellite Athletes’ Village in Robina.

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Real Estate Institute of QLD Gold Coast chairman Andrew Henderson said growth could be expected in many parts of the city, and not limited to suburbs closest to Olympic venues of Broadbeach, Benowa, Carrara, Coomera and Southport’s Broadwater Precinct.

“A large-scale event like the Olympics is going to stimulate significant growth for the Gold Coast, especially in any areas around construction or upgrades of infrastructure, such as the proposed rail stations at Merrimac, Pimpama and Helensvale, and also the length of the route along the light rail where you will be able to walk to stations all along the Gold Coast Highway from Mermaid Beach to Coolangatta,” Mr Henderson said.

The satellite Athletes’ Village would provide another housing solution for the region’s burgeoning population, if designed to meet the needs of future permanent residents, he said.

More than 2,600 athletes and team officials will be housed at the Athletes’ Village within the planned Collyer Quays residential development at Robina.

REA Group economist Cameron Kusher said: “Upgrades that improve the liveability and accessibility of a suburb are likely to be the most positive from a residential property perspective.”

“The major benefactors of the Olympics, from a property sense, are not likely to be linked to new venues. They will instead be areas that can tap into major infrastructure upgrades that may occur.”

Live in luxury in Carrara, close to Olympic venues for football, judo and wrestling. This mansion at 2 Witt Ave goes to auction on August 1 with Kollosche agent Sam Guo, who says the exclusive area is “somewhere to watch” ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Games.

Kollosche principal Michael Kollosche said the Games boon could add new fuel to the city’s post-Covid house-price boom.

“We can expect a lot more jobs and interstate migration for work if there is going to be more infrastructure to support the Games, and that will have a flow-on effect for the city’s economy,” Mr Kollosche said.

“When you look at the history of cities who have been awarded the games, most of them have had very strong growth leading up to those events, and I believe that would be something that could keep the property market quite stable even if other areas of the country were to cool off.”

Data following the Sydney Olympics in 2000 shows property prices rose as soon as the harbour city was announced as host in September 1993.

Median house prices rose more than 140 per cent over the next ten years, from $188,000 in 1993 to $454,250 in 2003.

But with the Brisbane Games still a decade away, Ray White Surfers Paradise director Andrew Bell said the market’s response to the pandemic remained the key influence on house prices.

Want front-row viewing of the Olympic beach volleyball at Broadbeach Park Stadium? This beachside apartment at 4/5-9 Broadbeach Blvd is marketed by Kollosche agents, Rob Lamb and Michael Kollosche, and goes under the hammer on August 4.

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“I don’t expect some sudden surge of buyers greater than what we already have … but it is another factor that means we have a really good ten years ahead of us,” Mr Bell said.

“When we did the Commonwealth Games in 2018, everyone thought it would be the great white knight to bolster the Gold Coast, but we have so much going for us.

“[The Olympics] is another contributor, but it’s not a linchpin. It creates a big focus on the region and it will stimulate investment into the area, but that’s yet to be determined in any particular suburb,” he said.

Propertyology analyst Simon Pressley said Games hype could buoy the market for up to a year after the event. But broader economic factors had a far greater impact on house prices.

“The broader national economy at that time, credit policy, and monetary policy are key factors, while local housing supply, political stability and broader local economic conditions are among many micro factors,” Mr Pressley said.

“How property markets might perform in south-east Queensland in 7-12 years’ time is about as predictable as what might be happening on the South Pole.”

This Hamptons-style home at 668 Foxwell Rd, Coomera is close to the northern suburb’s Indoor Sports Centre where Olympic volleyball will be held. It’s for sale via an expressions of interest campaign with Patrick and Karen Donaldson, of Ray White.

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Pundits could look to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games – with the bulk of facilities to be used for the Olympics already in place from hosting the earlier event.

The Coast’s median house price was up 22 per cent in the five years ending 2019, a “middle-of-the-road performance” compared with other parts of Australia, Mr Pressley said.