Queensland’s property market proved to be the standout performer in 2021.
For the first time on record, it facilitated the most sale settlements of any jurisdiction in 2021 with 232,824, up 41% from 2020 and up 59% from 2019, according to the latest Property and Mortgage Insights (PMI) report released by PEXA Insights, the data arm of PEXA.
Buyers were particularly eager to lap up the sun, with Surfers Paradise the most popular postcode in the state for settlements with 3302, followed by Urangan with 3079 – as both postcodes made the top 10 nationally.
The PMI report also confirmed an increase of 32% in annual growth for property sale settlement volumes, with more than 834,008 completed nationally in 2021, and almost 1.4 million sales completed since the beginning of the pandemic.
These outstanding figures demonstrated the role of the broader property market as the backbone of the nation’s economy amidst the significant recent challenges, with the overall aggregate value of property sale settlements growing a massive 57% from 2020, as Australians spent more than $688 billion on property in the calendar year.
The strong returns are testament to the consistently high buyer demand seen throughout 2021 on the back of record low interest rates, together with the rise in individual property prices. This trend culminated in a record December 2021 for monthly national aggregate property value, reaching $76.7 billion settled.
“In what has been a challenging time for many Australians amidst lockdowns and uncertainty, the property market has boomed with purchasers taking advantage of record low interest rates,” PEXA’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Scott Butterworth, said.
“We also believe many consumers have been motivated to purchase more suitable housing to incorporate new working from home arrangements, which may have led to the significant increase in aggregate value of property settlements across the nation.”
Lending behaviour
PEXA Insights’ PMI report also analyses growth trends across metropolitan and regional areas, and consumer lending behaviour, with 2021 seeing 617,338 new loans taken out nationally, an increase of 32.5% from 2020.
“It was a strong year of growth for regional centres across the country in 2020, with many Australians deciding to make the move to the seaside and countryside,” Scott said. “In 2021, we saw much more even growth across both inner-city and regional areas as all states began to loosen restrictions.
“Despite the major banks winning market-share through 2020, non-major banks have managed to improve their position and arm-wrestle market share in new loans back away from the majors in 2021. With interest rate movement assumed by many commentators to be imminent, the battleground for both new loans and refinances is expected to heat up during 2022.”
The Queensland property market has continued to go from strength to strength. In actuality, the state has proved that it can maintain its growth in what appears to be the most in demand property market in Australia. It remains to be seen in the next PMI report if the Sunshine State’s counterparts can catch up.
Share this article