Investors to stay in Queensland with prices tipped to rise further

Property investors expect values to keep rising and have their eyes firmly on the Sunshine State, but fewer intend to buy in the next 12 months than at the same time last year, a new survey has revealed.

More than 76 per cent of respondents to the Property Investment Professionals of Australia’s latest annual survey said they expected property prices to rise in the next 12 months, up from 41 per cent at this time last year.

Around 62 per cent of respondents said they believed now was a good time to buy property, but the percentage of those intending to buy in the next six to 12 months fell from 44 per cent last year to 35 per cent.

The survey showed 29 per cent of respondents had bought a property in the last 12 months.

Fewer investors are also looking to sell in 2021, with 59 per cent of respondents looking to sell in the next 12 months, compared to 71 per cent last year.

“Part of the reason for the uplift in property prices over the past year has been the continued low levels of supply in most locations around the nation,” PIPA chairman Peter Koulizos said.

“With a decrease in the number of investors indicating they intend to sell over the short-term, it seems unlikely that this boom market cycle is going to change any time soon.”

A big majority of property investors said Queensland offered the best prospects for success in the next 12 months, even as the Sunshine State’s property prices have soared over the last year.

Nearly 60 per cent of respondents to the survey said they thought the best place in Australia to invest was Queensland, up from 36 per cent at the same time last year.

New South Wales was investors’ number two choice, at 16 per cent, while 10 per cent of respondents said they believed their best prospects were in Victoria.

Brisbane was also the pick for investors among capital cities, with 54 per cent saying it offered the best investment prospects.

Sydney was second at 13 per cent, while 12 per cent of those surveyed said they believed in Melbourne.

Perth’s appeal to investors improved to 9 per cent, from 6 per cent last year, while 6 per cent of respondents said they believed Adelaide offered the best investments.

Mr Koulizos said the recent announcement that South East Queensland would host the 2032 Olympics, putting into motion billions of dollars worth of infrastructure upgrades, gave the state a strong foundation for further growth.

“All of these factors, as well as the affordability of property in South East Queensland and strong interstate migration, are some of the reasons why investors are so optimistic about market conditions there,” Mr Koulizos said.

The survey showed the pandemic had also changed buyer behaviour, with 38 per cent of respondents saying it had made them more likely to buy in the next 12 months, while 29 per cent said it had made them less likely to do so.

The number of investors who said the pandemic made them more likely to sell rose from 7 per cent to 18 per cent, likely on the back of the strong surge in house prices that occurred over the past year.