Queensland property market to take further beating
The already weak Brisbane property market will take further beating as houses are expected to be taken out of the market completely and prices start plummeting.
Brisbane property prices were the weakest in the country last year with Australia in the past year, with median prices declining by 2.7 percent due to oversupply. By the end of 2010, 28,389 houses were for sale in Brisbane, 59 percent more than the same period during the previous year.
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As floods continue to inundate the state, property prices are forecast to drop even lower since it will take months for infrastructure damages to be repaired.
"The immediate impact is going to be that houses which have been impacted directly by the floods that require repairs will likely be taken off the market," SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said. "The floods are going to remind buyers of the risks of buying near the floodplains. There is the risk some of the most prestige areas are going to take a hit because buyers are aware of the risks now of buying there."
Even the city's toniest addresses have not been spared of the effects of the flooding with posh areas like New Farm, West End, St. Lucia, Indooroopilly, Graceville and Chelmer also hit. Industry executives predict that this will lead to many of the houses in prestigious areas being lowered considerably if they are not repaired right away as opposed to suburbs located in the outer west and nearby Ipswich.
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