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Happy new year! We hope that you were able to enjoy the holiday season with family and friends.

As we look forward to what is going to happen in 2023, we are expecting price growth to stabalise and return to a more balanced market.

The PropTrack Regional Australia 2022 Report, in late December, found Queensland – both metro and regional – remained the most popular destination for internal migrants, with more people moving to the state than anywhere else in the country.

PropTrack senior economist and report author, Eleanor Creagh, said the pandemic, multiple lockdowns and more time spent at home led many to reassess their housing wants and needs.

“Housing markets in regional Australia thrived as people sought more space and more affordable homes,” she said.

“Remote working opportunities and preference shifts drove strong population growth in regional areas at the expense of the capitals, predominantly Sydney and Melbourne.”

In regional Queensland, the biggest declines from the peak have been in some of the most inflated markets, but demand for more affordable regions was holding up.

“They remain buoyed by shifting lifestyle priorities, migration trends and affordability advantages that are still in play,” Ms Creagh said.

The report found that Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast suburbs made up eight of the top 10 most in demand regional suburbs and only two suburbs outside of Queensland made the top 10 list.

“Despite population flows slowing, almost half (42%) of interstate searches are into regional Queensland,” the report said.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella said Qld’s market performance post-Covid had been, “nothing short of extraordinary”.

“However, consecutive interest rate rises and inflation are starting to dampen this heightened buyer activity and see households tighten their belts.”

Homes were taking longer to sell as buyers traded frenzied activity for a more considered approach, she said.

“We’re no longer seeing the bullish behaviour and aggressive unconditional offers that emerged over the past two years,” Ms Mercorella said.

“The rise of risky behaviours such as buying sight unseen, impossibly short settlement periods, and waiving coolingoff periods are hopefully behind us now.”

If you have any questions, our teams are available any time to talk about the property market, and hep you on your real estate journey.