Which city will see its property values increase most in 2022?

Australia witnessed a truly unbelievable level of property value appreciation in 2021, with data from CoreLogic showing 22.1 per cent growth across the nation over the past 12 months.

2022’s real estate sector, on the other hand, has the makings of a much more nuanced market, with some cities tipped to do far better than others.

According to a report late last year from SQM Research, Sydney and Melbourne’s property sectors will soften significantly this year and may even regress slightly.

SQM Research’s Christopher’s Housing Boom and Bust Report 2022 posits that likely intervention from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) could impact already overvalued property growth in the nation’s first and second biggest cities.

By contrast, Brisbane’s property values are tipped to strive ahead over the next year, thanks to better affordability, more demand, and less supply.

In its latest report, CoreLogic said, “a two-speed market is emerging across the state capitals”, supporting the notion of further cooling in Sydney and Melbourne and continued growth in Brisbane.

Dr Nicola Powell, Domain’s chief of research and economics, said a combination of factors needed to be considered to understand Brisbane’s prospective growth in 2022.

“Brisbane is going to be in the spotlight for stronger rates of growth compared to others, for a variety of reasons,” Dr Powell said.

“It really hasn’t had substantial growth in years prior; we’ve only just started to see that market accelerate over the last 18 months.

“And I think it’s still largely affordable, with a much lower price point.

“We’ve obviously seen an influx of interstaters moving from higher-priced markets into Brisbane, and I think that will continue.”

According to Dr Powell, growth in Queensland’s capital is likely to continue into the long term as well, thanks to its securement of hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics.

“Brisbane won the Olympic bid for 2032, and the government needs to deliver that, so you’ll see commitments to infrastructure actually being delivered,” she said.

“And you’ll see investors following the infrastructure investment, so what you tend to find with big-ticket events such as the Olympics, the growth in property is in the lead-up to the event.

“So we’re going to see huge bucks being spent by government on infrastructure, and that will create jobs, population growth, and draw people from other parts of Australia, chasing those jobs, which will put additional demand on housing.”