Queensland leads East Coast property boom

Australia's economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been led by the performance of its east coast property market, according to end-of-financial year figures released by PEXA, Australia's leading digital property settlement platform.

PEXA's Property and Mortgage Insights (PMI) report provides unique insights into property settlement and mortgage trends across the east-coast, analysing metropolitan vs regional, residential vs commercial, growth in lending, and the performance of major and non-major lenders.

The trends that matter in Australia's property between July 2020 and June 2021

Queensland leads the east coast for growth, recording +203,000 property sale settlements (up 37% year-on-year) worth more than $106 billion (up 44% year-on-year).

• Queensland hasn't outperformed Victoria in sale settlements for more than a decade.
• Greater Brisbane matched the state's regional property market, bucking recent historical trends.

New South Wales also experienced strong gains in property sales, recording +218,000 settlements (up 26% year-on-year) worth more than $186 billion (up 27% year-on-year).

• Port Macquarie, Orange and Dubbo were in the top five suburbs for greatest number of property sale settlements.
• The state's residential sector accounted for more than 84% of all sale settlements, even though commercial sales were up more than 30% year-on-year.

Victoria's property market saw softer gains in light of the state's second extended COVID-19 lockdown, recording +198,000 property sale settlements (up 11% year-on-year) worth more than $127 billion (up 8% year-on-year).

• Regional Victoria bolstered the state's sales figures with 28% year-on-year growth in settlements, whilst Greater Melbourne saw a 2% decline year-on-year.
• Victoria's commercial property market remained strong, recording 53,000 settlements -almost 80% more than northern neighbour New South Wales.

PEXA notes Australian property sales have been fuelled by low interest rates, government stimulus and increased buyer demand.

Sunshine State shines

Queensland has outshone its southern neighbours throughout a COVID-19 impacted financial year, recording more property settlements than Victoria, and edging ever closer to its Origin rival New South Wales.

Greater Brisbane was also the standout capital city across the east coast, delivering a 52% year-on-year increase in property sales - a stark contrast to Greater Melbourne which saw a 2% decline from the 2019-2020 financial year.

According to PEXA's Senior Research Manager, Mike Gill: "From being the standout leader in volume for property sale settlements in FY20, we have witnessed the demonstrative impact the pandemic has had on the Victorian property market, with both New South Wales, and in particular Queensland, recording comparatively bumper year-on-year numbers across both metropolitan and regional areas.

"The Sunshine State has had an incredible year in property, with Greater Brisbane jumping more than 50% on last year's figures, and the rest of Queensland delivering significant year-on-year gains. We have seen solid results in New South Wales across the state with settlements up 26%, and Victoria's 10% year-on-year growth was propped up by strong results in regional and commercial sectors.

"Most notably, we have seen a trend across the east coast of greater activity in our regional areas, with sale settlements outside of capital cities up 36% in New South Wales, 28% in Victoria, and 23% in Queensland year-on-year," says Gill.

What's happening with loans?

PEXA's PMI report also analyses consumer lending behaviour, with FY21 numbers suggesting regional buyers were less likely than city buyers to fund their new purchase with a loan.

"Close to 80% of capital city settlements procured were funded with a new loan, compared to only 66% for regional settlements, suggesting metropolitan homeowners are moving to regional areas to take advantage of lower priced properties, flexible working arrangements and a change in lifestyle," says Gill.

"There also appeared to be greater consumer preference towards major banks for new loans in New South Wales and Victoria due to highly competitive rates, particularly for fixed rate loans and special offers, such as cash back incentives. Queensland consumers bucked this trend, with the gap narrowing in favour of the non-major lenders within the state from January 2021."

PEXA will continue to closely monitor the property market, in particular looking at any change in the trendline following the further reduction of government stimulus and the effects of snap COVID-19 led lockdowns.