‘Competing hard’: Brisbane Olympics house price battle looms

The Brisbane Olympics continue to loom as a potentially massive upward driver of house prices.

Speculation is rife about just how much the Games will push up prices in Brisbane in particular. As soon as the long-awaited venues were confirmed in March, realtors began promoting their properties as within the “Olympic precinct”.

Finder research suggests 1.5 million people would be looking to buy in Brisbane between now and the 2032 Games.

“The ripple effect on the local property market, especially in Brisbane’s inner and middle-ring suburbs, cannot be underestimated,” Australian Property Investor magazine said in April.

Propertytology managing director Simon Pressley tempered the huge expectations this week though, downplaying estimates Brisbane house prices would double in the next seven years.

“No guarantee,” he told Channel 7 on Tuesday morning.

“Property markets are obviously very, very complicated.

“There’s no precedent with past Olympic Games around the world that property booms always happen.”

The Sydney 2000 Games did spark a property boom though, but the NSW economy and the monetary policy of the time were larger factors for the boom, Mr Pressley said.

“Broadly, for the whole state of Queensland, the outlook for its property market for the foreseeable future looks to be strong,” he said.

“Buyers are already competing very hard for a small volume of properties for sale.”

The latest national figures show Brisbane’s median dwelling value has increased 7.1 per cent in the past year to $918,000.

Of the capital cities, only Perth prices have gone up more in the past 12 months. Regional South Australian prices have shot up the most.

In March, the Queensland government unveiled plans for a new Olympics precinct in Brisbane.

“There’s going to be a lot of construction obviously with various stadiums and arenas built all over the state,” Mr Pressley said.

“Skilled labour is going to be a big challenge for the Queensland government as well.”