Toowong has proven to be quite a resilient suburb over the last 12 months in the midst of a troubled Australian property market that saw widespread price falls in Sydney and Melbourne.
Real estate experts at Byrony O’Neill Estate Agents tagged February 2018 as the best performing month for Toowong in the period covering 2017 to early 2018, with
As the market progresses in 2019, Byrony O’Neill sees a renewed vigour from buyers and stronger demand for Toowong properties.
The positive news, however, came before jitters over the state of
Media Hype
As media put the spotlight on the downward spiral that was hurting Sydney and Melbourne, consumer confidence came crashing, causing Brisbane’s own property market to come to a halt.
“Media hype rattled consumer confidence and Brisbane paused to consider the effects a falling Sydney and Melbourne market would have on the rest of the nation,” said Byrony O’Neill, D
“Toowong experienced a slight cooling in the property market, as concerns of a market decline embellished by the media, put everyone on high alert.
“Property prices softened by about 4% from February to November 2018, bringing the median sale price back to $814,000. Still well above the Brisbane average of $680,000,” O’Neill said.
Toowong Bucking the Trend
Surprisingly, Toowong apartment market bucked the downward trend, despite the supply glut in Brisbane unit market, recording growth throughout 2018.
Toowong showed year-on-year unit value growth of 4.44 percent from November 2017 to November 2018. Conversely, Brisbane’s median unit prices dropped four percent during the same period.
Toowong apartment market in 2019 is still seen to post good results, said Ms O’Neil, with the right “pre-market preparation.”
“Neatly presented, older style apartments offer more spacious layouts and are generally lower in body corporate fees. With a marketing campaign strategically targeted towards homeowners and first home buyers, these apartments are selling within good timeframes,” she said.
2019 Outlook for Toowong
Toowong’s housing market outlook for 2019 still looks bright as buyer confidence and property demand show signs of “renewed vigour.” As rising demand continue to consume supply, competition will become tighter.
“A shortage of homes in the suburb and surrounds, is generating competition within the market, resulting in a number of properties receiving multiple offers from buyers.
“The average length of ownership has now stretched to 13 years, indicating that more homeowners are choosing to stay in this tightly held suburb. With the number of properties being sold continuing to decline in Toowong, buyers are having to compete for the few homes that do become available.”
School catchment is one of Toowong’s drawcards which is seen to continue to drive prices in the housing market in 2019. The Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology, in particular, have expanded its enrolment, which now include grades 7 to 9.
“Since the announcement, there has been increased demand for houses which are in close proximity to this school, including the occurrence of several off-market sales. A rare 371sqm parcel of vacant land in Toowong was sold exclusively through our client database for $640,000. The purchaser has now commenced work to build their family home so his daughter can attend the Queensland Academy,” said O’Neill.
