The S/E Queensland Property Market: Welcome Back to Normal

If you've been following the headlines lately, you could be forgiven for thinking the South-East Queensland property market is in trouble.

Prices are falling. Buyers are holding back. The boom is over...

Dene Tucker has been working in the real estate industry for over 35 years, 23 of those in the Greater Brisbane market.

Well… yes and no.

What we're actually experiencing is something far less dramatic.

We're returning to what I would call a NORMAL property market.

And after several years of extraordinary growth, normal can feel a little uncomfortable.

Let's Put It into Perspective

One of the biggest mistakes we make when talking about property is focusing on what happened last month rather than looking at the bigger picture.

Over the past decade, Brisbane and South-East Queensland property values have experienced extraordinary growth. Brisbane dwelling values are now more than 100% higher than they were ten years ago, with the vast majority of that growth occurring over the past five years. Even after the recent adjustment, Brisbane property values remain around 10% higher than they were just 12 months ago.

 So yes, the market has softened.

 But let's be very clear: We haven't had a 10% fall.

 The recent decline from the market's peak has been relatively small - around 3%.

 That's a correction. Not a crash.

 And when you consider the amount of growth that preceded it, it's really a market taking a breath.

 This Is What Normal Looks Like

For the past few years, we've become accustomed to properties selling within days, multiple offers, huge auction crowds and buyers competing aggressively because they were terrified of missing out.

That wasn't normal.

A normal market means buyers have choices.

 It means buyers negotiate.

It means sellers need to price correctly.

It means some properties sell quickly, some take longer, and some don't sell until the seller's expectations meet the market.

That's normal. And frankly, it's healthy.

 Don't Make the Mistake of Waiting for the Bottom

 Here's where I think buyers need to be careful.

 I understand the temptation to wait.

 "I'll buy when prices fall another 5%."

"I'll wait until the market bottoms."

"I'll wait until everyone starts buying again."

 There's just one problem.

 Nobody knows where the bottom is until it's already behind them.

 I've watched this happen many times over my 35+ years in real estate.

 Buyers wait for prices to fall further.

 Then confidence returns.

 Interest rates stabilise.

 Listings tighten.

 Competition increases.

And suddenly the property they could have bought six months earlier is no longer available at the price they wanted.

They didn't save money.

They missed the opportunity.

You Don't Need to Pick the Bottom

If you're a genuine buyer with a long-term objective, perhaps the better question isn't: "Is this the bottom?"

It's: "Can I buy the right property, in the right location, at a fair market price today?"

 If the answer is yes, why try to predict what the market will do next month?

After all, the best opportunities in property rarely look like opportunities at the time.

They become obvious afterwards.

So perhaps it's time to stop worrying about whether you've picked the absolute bottom and start looking at the opportunities actually in front of you.

Because six or twelve months from now, the question may not be: "Did I buy too early?" It may be: "Why didn't I buy when I had the chance?"

Welcome back to normal.