Unit sale prices in Logan are on the rise, which has real estate agents thinking rents might also climb.
The same factors which have driven the housing explosion have also contributed to unit prices – low mortgage rates and strong interstate migration, Ray White Rochedale principal Zishaan Omar said.
People are more keen to live in Queensland and they’re paying for the privilege.
Those factors meant there was an overflow of demand, and that in turn had created a shortage in supply. Therefore, prices were being jacked up as a result.
According to CoreLogic data, Logan had the second highest appreciation in unit markets nation-wide over the last financial year.
The highest uplifts were in unit sales at Rochedale South and Daisy Hill.
Daisy Hill came out on top, with increases of more than 15%. That brought median values to nearly $330,000 in the area.
Rochedale South was next in line, sitting shy of that with median prices of $305,000.
CoreLogic’s head of residential research in Australia Eliza Owen said the activity is unsurprising and a sign of continued growth.
“It’s not surprising to see these kinds of uplifts across south east Queensland,” she said.
“This market is being buoyed by strong interstate migration and persistently low mortgage rates.”
With increasing unaffordability in the housing market, the demand for units could continue to grow throughout the year.
“The unit sector is probably even more primed for growth through the rest of 2021, given the detached house sector has become increasingly unaffordable, and may skew demand toward the unit sector, Ms Owen said.
“We’re also seeing the return of the investor purchaser to many markets across Australia, and this may support demand for units given investors have a higher propensity for unit purchases.”
Ray White’s Zishaan Omar said the strength of the housing market has had a carryover effect to the unit market.
“It’s actually increased the unit market sales because people are getting pushed out in terms of affordability, and they’re starting to look at more units,” he said.
This is consequently driving up the costs of units.
The clearest sign of that came recently when one of his clients sold a unit in Rochedale South for the price of a nice four-bedroom family home.
“I sold a unit in Rochedale South for $495,000, which is insane, completely unheard of,” he said.
Mr Omar said his client was only expecting “mid-$430s”, so he can see how the market’s performance will improve seller confidence to levels not seen in a decade.
“It will give some confidence with sellers especially because units have been stable for sometime due to an oversupply all around.”
