Brisbane Rental & Buying Update

[Guest]

Hi everyone, 

We are edging closer to our move and looking at suburbs in Brisbane area. Ideally with good public commuter links (I am sick of driving to Glasgow and back) and a family community near to the city. 

I have some questions on the most recent status of rentals and buying in Brisbane area. I know things have been very up and down over the last few years so interested to know what the rental market is like now. 

I had booked an airbnb for 10 weeks but would like to reduce it as its very expensive. A rental agent advised 6 weeks would be enough to find a good rental - does that sound reasonable? 

Also, a big difference from UK to Oz is that many properties appear to be sold at auction. Having only seen this on Lux Listings for multi million dollar mansions, I'm keen to know more about this process in real life and for real people. (don't hate me for my TV choices - I am who I am :))

Bit of a long post but thanks for reading. 

[Marisawright]

Unfortunately Queensland is one of the worst states when it comes to tenant protection.   There's been a rental shortage and rents have absolutely soared in most places. 

• The whole auction system is a rort and a disgrace. 
• The agent agrees a price with the seller but doesn't disclose that on the advertisement. In some states, the law requires them to give an estimate but it's usually significantly under what the seller really wants. The seller is told this is a "teaser" to get people interested, and they can be "negotiated up" if they're really interested.
• When the prospective buyers come to inspect, the real estate agent quotes a figure well below what the seller expects (the agent is very careful never to put it it in writing, so there's no evidence and the seller doesn't even know). 
• All the way through the six-week inspection period, the agent tells the seller every negative bit of feedback they've received, but none of the good stuff.  This is to persuade the seller that the price they hoped for is unachievable, no one likes the place.
• On the day of the auction, the seller is asked to name his "reserve price" (the minimum price he's willing to sell for).
• The buyers all expect the home to sell for a lower figure than the reserve, because of what the agent told them.  Bidding takes a while to get going.  The agent may even have a fake bidder in the audience to get it started.
• As the excitement builds, the agent is relying on all the buyers getting caught up in the excitement and bidding way over what they planned to bid. 

If the market is tight, the agent's plan will probably work.  People will get caught up in the moment and the eventual price will be silly.    If there's plenty of property around, the opposite will happen. The bidding will barely reach the reserve -- a price the seller wouldn't originally have considered -- but because the agent has worn him down over the six weeks, he's resigned to the fact the property isn't worth as much as he thought, so he agrees to sell.

Either way, it means the property goes on the market for six weeks, goes to auction and is sold.  That's what the agent wants. He doesn't care whether his commission is high or low, he just wants a nice, neat, quick campaign and then he can move on to the next propery.  Whereas if he has to sell a property the conventional way, he may be stuck with showing people round it for weeks or months. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Marisawright

[Blue Flu]

The tricks of the game Real Estate bod's play. I could name more as well in the renting game. Some things are done for appearance, which will not be immediately apparent. 

But to Brisbane, a city I have no personal experience, but a friend of ours terminated her search for property to rent. She had moved from Perth to there with the thought to live close to her son, for several months, after the birth of son's first child. she only gave it several weeks of searching before throwing in the towel and returning. This may not be long enough, but indicative of the lack of rental in that market. 

 

[calNgary]

12 hours ago, Constance said:

Hi everyone, 

We are edging closer to our move and looking at suburbs in Brisbane area. Ideally with good public commuter links (I am sick of driving to Glasgow and back) and a family community near to the city. 

I have some questions on the most recent status of rentals and buying in Brisbane area. I know things have been very up and down over the last few years so interested to know what the rental market is like now. 

I had booked an airbnb for 10 weeks but would like to reduce it as its very expensive. A rental agent advised 6 weeks would be enough to find a good rental - does that sound reasonable? 

Also, a big difference from UK to Oz is that many properties appear to be sold at auction. Having only seen this on Lux Listings for multi million dollar mansions, I'm keen to know more about this process in real life and for real people. (don't hate me for my TV choices - I am who I am :))

Bit of a long post but thanks for reading. 

Hi 

 It will totally depend on what suburb you choose as to how quick you will secure a rental. A few years ago i would have said book temp accommodation for 4 to 6 weeks, now i would recommend 8 to 10 weeks to find a house, view it and put in an application. Personally i would keep the 10 weeks you have booked and although a tad more costly will be a good safety net until you secure somewhere. Securing a rental is not as bad as it was last year but can still be a bit of a nightmare. If you can be-friend an agent and get them on ''your side'' you may find they will help you a bit more, ideally you want one who will let you know what is coming up ,rather than what's already on the rental market.

  Do you have a job location to use a guide to where to live?

 Property Sales have boomed in most areas of Brisbane this last 12 to 24 months,. Near me, prices have doubled on lots of properties, people keep saying it will slow down, but these houses keep selling for what i think is silly money. Some do go to Auction , probably half if that, but the majority go up for sale with set date Open Homes were you can go and inspect them. This is by far the most common way of selling homes from my experience.

   Hope this helps a bit.

      Cal x

[Ausvisitor]

Can give you a little glimpse of our rental journey.

We arrived in AUS exactly a year ago (well it will be in 2 hours anyway). Sydney (so not quite the same as BRI)

We moved into our rental on the 1st April (so about 7 weeks in temp accom).

We had really simple needs, one-bed within 45 minutes if circular quay and clean. (We knew we would buy within the year so had no interest in paying loads for something we would only "pass-through")

In the end we had a long chat with the agent showing the flat, explained our cash status and employment plans and got them to position use with the landlord.

Ultimately if you go for a place that someone with AUS employment history and AUS rental history, 99 times out of 100 the property will go to them, so be prepared for an arduous process

 

(Also the viewing process of open houses once a week - or sometimes twice - makes Saturdays a day to dread)

[Guest]

22 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

The tricks of the game Real Estate bod's play. I could name more as well in the renting game. Some things are done for appearance, which will not be immediately apparent. 

But to Brisbane, a city I have no personal experience, but a friend of ours terminated her search for property to rent. She had moved from Perth to there with the thought to live close to her son, for several months, after the birth of son's first child. she only gave it several weeks of searching before throwing in the towel and returning. This may not be long enough, but indicative of the lack of rental in that market. 

 

How long ago was that when your friend tried to find a rental, if you don't mind me asking? 

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

Can give you a little glimpse of our rental journey.

We arrived in AUS exactly a year ago (well it will be in 2 hours anyway). Sydney (so not quite the same as BRI)

We moved into our rental on the 1st April (so about 7 weeks in temp accom).

We had really simple needs, one-bed within 45 minutes if circular quay and clean. (We knew we would buy within the year so had no interest in paying loads for something we would only "pass-through")

In the end we had a long chat with the agent showing the flat, explained our cash status and employment plans and got them to position use with the landlord.

Ultimately if you go for a place that someone with AUS employment history and AUS rental history, 99 times out of 100 the property will go to them, so be prepared for an arduous process

 

(Also the viewing process of open houses once a week - or sometimes twice - makes Saturdays a day to dread)

Thanks for this info!  

I am unsure of how long we will take to buy. There's been a bit of a price hike over covid which is coming back down a little - Oz seems similar to UK in that way from the various property forums I follow - but the bigger issue is the interest rates right now. 

Ideally I'd rent 6 months then buy, but the difference from 6m ago to now is huge, so not sure what the next 6m will bring. Although forecasts say it will come down a little.

Happy one year anniversary! 

[Guest]

17 hours ago, calNgary said:

Hi 

 It will totally depend on what suburb you choose as to how quick you will secure a rental. A few years ago i would have said book temp accommodation for 4 to 6 weeks, now i would recommend 8 to 10 weeks to find a house, view it and put in an application. Personally i would keep the 10 weeks you have booked and although a tad more costly will be a good safety net until you secure somewhere. Securing a rental is not as bad as it was last year but can still be a bit of a nightmare. If you can be-friend an agent and get them on ''your side'' you may find they will help you a bit more, ideally you want one who will let you know what is coming up ,rather than what's already on the rental market.

  Do you have a job location to use a guide to where to live?

 Property Sales have boomed in most areas of Brisbane this last 12 to 24 months,. Near me, prices have doubled on lots of properties, people keep saying it will slow down, but these houses keep selling for what i think is silly money. Some do go to Auction , probably half if that, but the majority go up for sale with set date Open Homes were you can go and inspect them. This is by far the most common way of selling homes from my experience.

   Hope this helps a bit.

      Cal x

That's helpful thank you. For context the 10 week accommodation is more than double that of a rental and I shopped around various sites for quite a while. It's soooo expensive. 

My job is on Creek Street in CBD and I'm open to North or South. 

We originally looked coastal areas, around Birkdale in the south and Sandgate in the North as they were in our budget and lifestyle idea but they feel too long a commute. 

I've been looking at Coorparoo, Morningside, Bulimba and surrounding suburbs but they might be a little too high a price point. I'd prefer to rent somewhere then buy in same area so I don't move my kids schools more than absolutely necessary. 

Been looking Northgate, Taigum, Aspley as they have better train links but I need to investigate the schools in those areas more. Just not got to that yet. I'm also interested in the areas ear marked for infrastructure investment for Brisbane Olympics but again need to look into that more. 

The various property you tube videos I watch have all said that Brisbane is the fastest growing city in Oz in terms of property value right now, so I guess that has its pros and cons. 

Good for you if you're already there and feeling that benefit! 

I am definitely going to keep going on the befriending an agent idea so thanks for validating that strategy

 

[Ausvisitor]

Thanks

Take what you read with a pinch of salt. I read every day that prices are dropping in Sydney, yet each week we look at places to buy and they are going up still. There are more people turning up to auctions than any I saw last year, and interest rates well... They reckon there will be another 3 rises (at least) and even then the rates are still historically low.

You might catch a bargain in the next six months, but the combined wisdom at the moment is prices will begin rapidly rising again by Christmas (but interest rates will still be roughly were that are today). Put simply the Australian negative gearing tax system makes it very profitable for people who have money to borrow to rent-out.

(And don't forget Brissie has the Olympics in 9 years - there has never been an Olympics host city that didn't see stratospheric house price rises in the decade long run up to the event)

[Blue Flu]

7 hours ago, Constance said:

How long ago was that when your friend tried to find a rental, if you don't mind me asking? 

It was about sixteen months ago. She returned to WA, where she owns her own house. Her son, his wife and child followed half a year later to WA. They live further South in Mandurah , but looking to move to Perth to be closer to mother if a suitable place comes up. Very hard in Perth . Loads of Eastern Staters have arrived over recent times. As such Perth has not seen a decline in prices as in other cities in Australia. 

Brisbane there is even talk of real estate going up over the years prior to The Olympic Games , still a long way away.