Many freestanding houses for sale are out of budget for buyers, even in historically affordable housing markets, according to Domain’s Matching Demand Report released in November.
But Domain senior economist Joel Bowman said these affordability challenges were forcing buyers to consider other options like townhouses and units.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” he said.
“From a developmental point of view, it presents exciting opportunities to be able to increase our supply of higher-quality and well-located townhouses and units.”
The median price for a free-standing house is $850,000 in the Loganlea area, $838,005 in Jimboomba, and $819,900 in Brown Plains.
The median budget of buyers looking to buy houses in these suburbs is $800,000.
“In the Logan pocket, we’re now seeing more and more of those areas where the listing prices are actually above what buyers are searching for,” Mr Bowman said.
“I think overall it’s no surprise given the large run-up that we’ve seen in house prices in Brisbane over the last five years.
“House prices have essentially skyrocketed, and that’s meant now that there’s more and more buyers who are getting priced out of the detached housing market.”
Mr Bowman said the gap between house prices and buyer budgets in areas further from a central business district (CBD) is typically smaller.
“But given the big run up in prices [in the Brisbane and Gold Coast markets], we’re now at the tipping point where for many compromising on location by moving further out of the CBD is no longer enough,” he said.
“And I think that just reflects the growing affordability challenge, and I think that’s pushing more buyers to consider cheaper housing alternatives, such as townhouses and units.”
Beenleigh was one of the few suburbs where the median price of listed properties matched buyer budgets, which was $800,000.
“It means that the market [in that area] is very much in balance,” he said. “So the price expectations of the sellers versus the budgets of the buyers are very much in line.
“In the context of the Queensland housing market, I think that’s quite unique, to be able to get that balance, it’s typical that we see the listing prices above, above the search price.”
The median listing price to buy a townhouse or unit in Brown Plains, Beenleigh, Carbrook, and Loganlea is lower than what prospective buyers are prepared to pay.
The median listing price to buy a townhouse in Brown Plains is $580,000, compared to a buyer budget of $650,000; in Beenleigh, the median price to buy a townhouse is $530,000, compared to a buyer budget of $530,000; in Loganlea, the median price to buy a townhouse is $560,000, compared to a buyer budget of $650,000.
Mr Bowman said these figures reflected the steps and process people looking to buy a property go through.
“I think for townhouses, they perhaps reflect those people that are maybe priced out of the housing market,” he said.
“They start to consider townhouses in a similar area, and their budgets are well and truly enough to be able to make that switch and to jump into the townhouse market.”
