(NEW FARM APARTMENT MARKET)
Nestled on the edge of the Brisbane CBD, it is hard to picture a time when New Farm was one of the city’s most undesirable postcodes. Today, it is favoured for its leafy streets, vibrant café culture, and exceptional location along the Brisbane River bend. Retaining much of its historic and industrial charm, New Farm continues to attract buyers drawn to its enduring village charm and inner-city convenience.
Since 2020, Brisbane has experienced an impressive 75.2 per cent surge in property value. With house and land in blue-chip suburbs becoming an unattainable dream for many, buyer demand for apartments in prestige suburbs such as New Farm has soared. Seeking low-maintenance apartment living, New Farm’s renovated brick units and modern apartments appeal to high-income professionals and downsizers, drawn to the suburb’s lifestyle offering.
Boasting some of the city’s most tightly-held existing properties at sought-after addresses, some with extraordinary river and city views, these exclusive opportunities position New Farm apartments amongst Brisbane’s most desirable and competitive property markets. With limited opportunities for new large-scale development and consistently strong demand, this sector is well-positioned for continued long-term growth.
(PROPERTY STOCK LEVELS)
In a moving market, where saving a deposit remains challenging and stock is not abundant, entering the market can seem impossible. The impact of market sentiment in particular is not to be underestimated, putting pressure on both buyers and sellers to act fast – if conditions pan out as they did five years ago, buyers may return to the market with fervor, lunging at just about anything they can get their hands on.
The ripple effect of the post-COVID stock shortage is still felt today and despite stock levels somewhat stabilising, fear of missing out is still rife. If the Reserve Bank of Australia does follow through with the five interest rates cuts priced in between now and the end of the year, lowering the official cash rate from the current 4.1 per cent to 2.85 per cent by the end of 2025, the property market could experience an overwhelming surge in interest as buyers anticipate long awaited respite for their mortgages.
After the global supply chain interruption of 2020, construction costs have increased by 43%, alarmingly outpacing wages and inflation. Though Australia’s construction industry doesn’t heavily rely on imported materials and services, Australia’s ongoing housing supply issue could be put under even more strain if a global trade war affects further products.
If this scenario eventuates, construction costs could rise further and timelines could blow out, further pushing up rent and house prices as the number of new homes being built dwindles further.
(TRUMP’S TARIFFS AND THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY)
Politics may not belong at the dinner table, but they certainly keep coming up in conversations about property – particularly Trump’s divisive decisions. Since his inauguration, he has been moving at the speed of light, signing a barrage of executive orders, some reasonable, others radical.
The 145 per cent tariff on Chinese imports and the blanket 10 per cent border tax on all other countries importing goods into the US, with a few exceptions, have triggered global retaliation. While the trade war is not on our shores, Australia is not immune to the effects of Trump’s decisions.
While Australia’s direct exposure to the US seems minimal, our deep links to the global economy – China in particular – could see us feel repercussions, especially across the mining and agricultural market.
What is the knock-on effect on the housing market? Some say consumer confidence could drop and investment decisions could be stalled, causing the market to cool. We beg to differ.
We’re no fortune tellers, but the 2020 pandemic is a case in point for the opposite effect: market volatility and temporary uncertainty was followed by an unprecedented period of growth for the Brisbane housing market. Policymakers introduced stimulatory measures such as record-low interests and rolling out government incentives to encourage Australians to invest in the local property market. Brisbane and surrounding areas experienced a spike in migration, further driving the demand for housing. Finally, investors turned to stable commodities such as property during times of turmoil.
What impact Trump’s tariffs will have on Australia’s inflation and borrowing costs is anyone’s guess – the uncertainty could be a drag or a boost depending on how global dynamics pan out, but one thing is certain: a sense of deja-vu is undeniable and to this day, the impact on our housing market has been positive.
(THE CHALLENGE OF BUYING A FIRST HOME)
46.4 per cent – that’s the large portion of their salary a young couple buying in Brisbane can expect to funnel into an entry level home, according to updated modelling. That’s just over 10 per cent less than the 57.6 per cent Sydneysiders have to shell out to secure their first house.
Australians living in the nation’s largest city, in particular those residing within proximity to the harbour or the coast, have long had to embrace apartment living to afford a home in desirable areas. What hardly anyone would have anticipated, is that within the last five years, Queensland’s capital would follow suit. As buyers gravitate towards units as the ‘next best thing’ to stay close to the city, they have to budget 34.4 per cent of their income for their mortgage. That’s only 1.4 per cent less than the 35.8 per cent in Sydney!
These figures, courtesy of Domain’s 2025 First-Home Buyer report reveal the sharp sting of buying even an entry-level unit in Brisbane – $610,000 is the current average price of a two bedroom unit. For first home buyer couples between the ages of 25 to 34, our city has become one of the toughest in the country to secure a home to call your own, amidst soaring cost of living and stagnating salaries.
(THE IMPACT OF THE FEDERAL ELECTIONS)
The re-elected Albanese-led Labor Government will remain in office following the 2025 federal election. For the first time, Gen Z and Millennials (adults between the ages of 18 and 44 years old) outnumbered BabyBoomers and Gen X at the voting stations and housing was a hot topic throughout the cost-of-living centric election campaign for all parties.
From policy shifts to property prices, Labor’s renewed mandate could shape first-home buyers by expanding existing low-deposit and shared-equity schemes to offer more support to enter the market and investing in the construction of homes for sale exclusively to first-home buyers.
These incentives may be helpful, but history has proven that when supply remains tight and stimulus-driven demand rises while the population continues to grow, prices tend to climb quickly. If interest rates fall in the weeks following the election, the effect of the policies coming into play could be tenfold!
(SHOULD I BUY NOW?)
For Brisbane buyers, the change in affordability has become so stark, it pushes the Australian strategy of building wealth through property further and further away. Government incentives have been improved and restrictions relaxed to support young Queenslanders getting into their first home, but to amass a deposit for a Brisbane unit, buyers now need to spend at least four years saving. That calculation assumes there are two individuals putting aside 20 per cent of their post tax income.
At the rate at which property prices continue to steadily climb across the country’s capitals and satellite cities, factoring in the current cost of living, it’s a dire outlook for those who cannot rely on the bank of mum and dad to support their investments, in particular individuals looking to buy solo.
Conversely, it creates opportunities for those who have already amassed significant equity to leverage it in order to build generational wealth. Those who purchased property just five years ago, prior to Brisbane’s property boom, benefitted from entering the market before prices surged, as well as record-low interest rates over the years. As a result, they have a significant head start on building a strong portfolio compared to anyone looking to get on the property ladder today.
(BRISBANE’S OLYMPIC PLAN)
International interest too has picked up, and Brisbane’s glow-up for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games promises a bright future for our River City. Plans for a renovation of the Gabba Stadium have been scrapped, and following the Games, it will have reached its expiry date and will be demolished to make way for the development of a housing precinct.
Instead, a brand new 63,000 seat stadium will be erected at Victoria Park, sparing Brisbane the embarrassment of carting visitors to and from the dated QSAC at Nathan. Coincidentally, this venue will be placed along the recently inaugurated Brisbane Metro’s route, which was designed to provide much needed mass transit for commuters and relief on major roads.
(SUMMARY)
Overall, 2025 promises to be an exciting year for Brisbane. Significant investments in infrastructure, tourism, and urban development continue to reshape the landscape of our River City, creating opportunities for businesses and residents alike.
The property market in Brisbane will benefit from these changes, with increased demand driven by ongoing population growth and major projects like the Waterfront Brisbane development, Howard Smith Wharves expansion and the Cross River Rail. As the city’s appeal as a lifestyle and business destination develops, both residential and commercial property sectors are expected to see further growth, offering lucrative prospects for investors and homebuyers.
