We’ve just published our two major hotspots for Queensland – Top 5 Brisbane and Top 5 Regional Queensland – at a time when many of these markets are on the cusp of a real estate boom.

The Brisbane market has shrugged off the impacts of the pandemic and is in its strongest position to generate price growth for five years. This is starting to translate increasingly into evidence of uplift in property values.

Our analysis of sales activity across the Brisbane metropolitan area has identified 56 suburbs with rising momentum, the highest number since late in 2015 and double the number identified in our survey six months ago. The numbers show an all-round improvement in the Brisbane market, with a sharp reduction in the number of declining or danger markets.

Brisbane’s affordability relative to the biggest cities is helping to boost its market, with more people relocating to South-East Queensland from Sydney and other parts of Australia. Brisbane is a natural beneficiary of the Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle trend and is also benefiting from strong consumer confidence as a result of the success in controlling Covid-19.

We’re also seeing very positive trends in the state outside of Brisbane. Indeed, this is the strongest Regional Queensland market in the six years we have been conducting our quarterly surveys of sales activity and prices. The number of rising markets is the highest recorded, by a considerable margin, and property values are growing.

We have identified 72 locations with rising sales activity, a remarkable result in the year of the pandemic. Locations across the state are benefiting from the Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle and/or the improvement in the resources sector.

Vacancies are ultra -ow in most of these places. There are seven regional cities with five or more suburbs with forward momentum in sales activity: the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone and Townsville. These cities, plus smaller regional centres like Gympie, Emerald, Warwick, Kingaroy and Dalby, all have markets trending in the right direction for sustained price growth.

The Sunshine Coast is again the standout location, but other regional markets are emerging, notably the important inland city of Toowoomba. And we are seeing recovery in resources-related centres which have spent several years in downturn, including Gladstone, Mount Isa and Emerald.

So the best way to find out which are the best markets to focus on in Brisbane and Queensland – and why – is to get our Queensland Bundle. It includes Top 5 Brisbane and Top 5 Regional Queensland and is a great way to make some decisions about where you might buy in 2021.