What the Olympics mean for Property Market in Brisbane

Current Property Market in Brisbane

Brisbane’s property market is currently experiencing a boom with exciting growth throughout the city. With the announcement of the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, we can only expect this to mean big things for the city’s property market.¹ 

In the last year to August 2021, the Brisbane market has performed extremely well with property values experiencing an increase of 15.9%. As of August 2021, the city’s median house price is at $674,738, while apartments continue to be an affordable option with a median value of $419,143.

Recent Growth in Brisbane Property market

While property markets across the world saw negative impacts from COVID-19 in 2020, Brisbane’s resilient market managed to maintain steady levels of growth with 85% of Brisbane’s suburbs actually recording an annual growth in December 2020.²

Source: Median price (unstratified) and number of transfers (capital city and rest of state)

Historically, Brisbane’s property market has shown steady growth in both house and unit markets, particularly with the housing market showing a strong growth rate in the past 5 years. As mentioned above, Brisbane has maintained that growth from late 2020 into the first half of 2021. In the quarter leading up to August 2021, Brisbane's property market has seen an increase of 6.0% and is continually recording new record high house and unit values.

Although the Olympics are still 11 years away we can expect many developments to occur in Brisbane between now and then and this focus will have positive impacts on this already strong market. 

What are the plans for new infrastructure?

With the announcement of the Olympics in 2032, brings more opportunities to improve Brisbane’s infrastructure, economy and create jobs across the state. It’s estimated that these Olympics will bring $8 billion of economic and social benefits to Queensland,³ through an increase in tourism and the creation of approximately 91,600 full-time equivalent jobs in Queensland. 

84% of the venues for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games are set to be venues that are already built or will be temporary and will be located in three main hubs across the state. Of the 28 different sports, Brisbane will host 21, while the Gold Coast will host 7 and 4 on the Sunshine Coast. Of these existing venues, the major infrastructure work will include a $1 billion rebuild of The Gabba Stadium - where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held -  to increase its capacity from 42,000 to 50,000 seats. 

The 16% of new venues will include a 15,000 seat aquatic centre in Brisbane’s CBD, a 12,000 seat basketball stadium and a 10,000 seat gymnastics and boxing centre. Additionally an athlete’s village is planned to be built on Brisbane’s waterfront in Hamilton. 

It is expected that by the time of the games, major infrastructure projects such as the Cross River Rail, Brisbane Metro and Coomera Connector will be completed to allow smooth travel for spectators and account for the growing population of Brisbane. However, Judith Mair, University of Queensland tourism and events expert, has noted that it is expected that “Infrastructure improvements, road transport improvements, public transport improvements that might have been in the 30-year plan for the city can be brought forward so they're ready in time for the Olympics".⁴

What does this mean for Brisbane and Surrounding Suburbs

The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the third time an Australian city has hosted the event - after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. Historically, the host city of the Olympics has experienced positive trends to their property market.

Although in most cases, it’s not directly due to the games being hosted, but with improvements in infrastructure and increased trade, foreign investment and tourism, it is clear that the Olympics can be a factor towards these results. For example, between the Olympics being announced in 1993 and when they were held in 2000, Sydney’s property market experienced a 60% increase.⁵ After the 2000 Olympic Games, the median house price increased by 88% over the five years ending 2001 in Sydney, while London experienced a 38% increase over the 5 years ending 2013.⁶ While these increases are large, they can be outweighed by other factors such as the property growth across Australia across this period and the $16 billion London invested to prepare for the Olympics. 

Therefore with the increases to infrastructure and the economic boost that Brisbane is expected to gain from the games, the property market is likely to see some major gains in the years leading up to and after the Olympics. 

For Brisbane, it is forecasted by Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo, PRD Chief Economist, that house prices could more than double by 2032. This growth rate has been forecasted to be inline with the past performance of the G20 summit in 2014, where Brisbane’s property market increased 112.7% from when the event was announced in 2003 to 2015.⁷ 

Based on this modelling, Dr Mardiasmo has predicted the following growth rate for various Brisbane suburbs by 2032.⁸ 

^Source: PRD Research, AMP Pricefinder

It is of course important to understand that these projections are forecasted based on previous cases and therefore other factors can affect how the property market reacts in the 11 years leading up to Brisbane’s Olympics. 

If you’re looking to invest in Brisbane’s property market in the lead up to the Olympic Games, you can speak with your local Mortgage Choice broker who can do all the legwork and find the right loan for you.