It’s hard to believe that this time next week the Lord Mayor’s Lighting of the Christmas Tree officially kicks off the festive season in the heart of Brisbane.
This joyous celebration marks the start of the most wonderful time of the year in our city; in our office it gives Lou and Georgie free reign to go to town on the festive decorations. If you see an elf on the shelf hanging out in our shopfront, you know who put it there.
If you’re a local, you’ll have noticed that our wonderful neighbours at Design & Co have already put up their very chic & minimalistic Christmas tree. I imagine it’s only a matter of days until our office looks like this again…
I touched on this in a previous email, but we’re seeing a significant and ongoing increase in momentum in the market as the year comes to a close. On one hand, rates dropping during previous months and changes to the first home buyer incentives have seen the serviceability shackles somewhat loosen for buyers, putting upward pressure on prices.
Within weeks of the 5 per cent deposit scheme broadening, we saw entry level property prices in Brisbane soar straight to the top end of the eligible price bracket. That’s an eye-watering $1 million, in case you aren’t keeping close tabs on the figures!
On the sell side, we’re noticing more owners listing their properties for sale, ready to capitalise on the acceleration in price growth we’ve experienced this year. Traditionally, the summer heat primarily drew buyers to seaside postcodes. More free time, the opportunity to inspect properties in person and the promise of a holiday home for upcoming vacations set the perfect scene for a very special Christmas gift. This year, we’re seeing fresh listings pop up right across the city and beyond.
The auction date might be a little too close to the end of the year to move into this spectacular apartment before the festivities kick off, but the private courtyard seems like the perfect spot to host Christmas 2026 to me.
Continuing our own series of campaign launches, we’ve just taken Unit 143 on the top floor of the Mactaggarts Woolstore to market. After seeing the beautifully styled interiors, the current owners felt a little tug at their heartstrings at the thought of selling. It happens more often than you think and is a testament to our styling team and photographer’s skills; join us tomorrow at 11.30 AM to see for yourself!
Times have changed, and across the industry we’re noticing that even the week between Christmas and New Years, when everyone is a little too full and utterly unsure what day it is, is being used wisely. It has evolved into the perfect window to begin preparing campaigns for an early 2026 launch. Buyers have a little more time to scroll through the portals, sellers enjoy flexibility to prepare their property and it sets the campaign up for a strong start in the new year, just in time to hold the first weekend of open homes on January 10th!
That having been said, I’m getting well ahead of myself. We’ve got a brilliant line up of properties for you to view this weekend – if anything, a mosey around these beautiful apartments will be a welcome break from the heat!
Our industry may not offer flashy Black Friday bargains, but I can guarantee that a savvy purchase will far outlast the dopamine hit of a cheeky discount applied at checkout! On that note, I’ll leave you to peruse the early BFCM deals – I’ve been told they’re pretty epic this year.
Talk soon,
Ben
