BRISBANE'S RENTAL MARKET SLOWS

RENTAL growth has slowed in Brisbane as investors focus on capital growth, according to research from Place Advisory.

Director Lachlan Walker says despite the cyclical change, he has seen increasing interest in two-bedroom units, over one and three bedrooms.

“Two-bedroom apartments recorded growth in median rents in Brisbane’s inner north, south and east.

“The strongest performing suburb in Brisbane for two-bedroom apartment stock was Hamilton, situated in the city’s inner north,” he says.

Walker says median rents in this sector increased 12 per cent last year, due to a hike charged for the sought after properties.

“Other high performers were Wooloowin, Bulimba, Hawthorne and Fairfield, all of which recorded a six per cent increase in the median rent for two-bedroom apartments over the course of 2013.”

The research shows most one and three-bedroom apartments experienced a decline in median rents, including in the CBD, New Farm, Kangaroo Point and Toowong.

“Bulimba recorded the biggest growth, with an increase in median rent of 18 per cent, and other high performing suburbs in the three-bedroom rental market were Clayfield and South Brisbane, which recorded growth of 13 and seven per cent respectively.

“With the high level of affordability on offer, people are choosing to buy rather than rent and this, in conjunction with the delivery of new apartment stock to the market, will see a softening of rents, at least until supply is absorbed,” he says.