Coronavirus & The Brisbane Property Market

If you’re anything like me, you’re likely wondering how long the virus will hang around and how it will have an impact on the property market, if at all. I’ve outlined my thoughts below.

The outbreak has impacted significant aspects of everyday lives including travel, work, entertainment such as sporting events, concerts and festivals cancelled, education and school closures, economy, financial markets and fears of a recession.

So… what does that mean for people who have been thinking of buying real estate?

Well, despite the fact that the share market has crashed, the property market stands to make exponential gains.

Right now we have a perfect storm of economic events which are driving property prices up and will continue to do so over the short, medium and long term.

• Building approval rates are at their lowest rates in over a decade and have been that way since 2018
• We’ve had the largest population growth in the OECD for years, growing at a rate of around 400,000 people per year
• The cost of debt is less now that it ever has been, which means more people can borrow more money at a lower cost – and it’s possibly about to get even cheaper
• First home buyer scheme has kicked in, meaning lots of new entrants into the market
• Share market volatility is causing more people to want to transfer their wealth into real estate

All of this is creating an increase in demand for property, with a limited supply, not to mention another rate cut strongly tipped for next month.

Of course, it is quite apparent that we’re going to experience some turbulence over these coming months. We may very well see a small dip in house prices in some parts of the country… but remember, our property markets are underwritten by the fact that around 70% of all property owners are homeowners.

The fundamentals are just too strong for this to fail in any meaningful way. Furthermore, any slight dip we see in property prices will be followed by a steep and sustained rebound in my opinion.

So, if you were to ask me, is this a good time to buy property?

I’d say that this is a once in a decade opportunity. I believe we are, right now, at the beginning of an upcycle which will last for the next couple of years and those who have the resilience to seize the opportunity will see great levels of personal wealth advancement.

This truly is a time where Warren Buffet’s classic catch cry rings true: “Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.” It is well documented that the greatest fortunes have been made off the back of market uncertainties, when those astute enough to see opportunity, were also brave enough to go and seize it.

These are truly the times that the most entrepreneurial will advance, and those who live a life of fear will stagnate.