Aussie Real Estate Podcast
Brisbane vs Sydney and Melbourne: The Real Story Behind Queensland’s Price Growth
22 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Hey, we are back with your Real Estate Property Podcast and the Australian property markets and streaming right now on Spotify and iHeartRadio. Yeah, breaking down all of the major real estate markets from Mackay to Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast, one of my favourite spots, plus the regional areas that you might be thinking about moving to. Now, if you want to get in touch...
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Chapter 2: What factors are driving migration from Sydney to Brisbane?
Super easy. The link is below. Click on the link and start talking to share with us anything really that's on your mind. Doesn't necessarily have to be property. The second way to get in contact with us is via our email address, which is myrealestatepodcast at gmail.com. Hope you had a great weekend. It is a Monday, February the 23rd.
New research out from the Regional Australia Institute tells us that Sydney residents are driving a significant migration to regional areas. 41% of people are considering a move due to high living costs and housing prices. Is there any surprise there? Probably not, but it is a massive number.
And because the housing market is set to grow, what is that figure amongst Gen Zs likely to be in five years from now? Well over 60%, I'll put that to you. It's a brain drain out of Australia's largest city. And you've got to sort of add up how that's going to multiply because you've got AI with all of these forecast unemployment numbers that are going to follow.
So in five years' time, the landscape for Sydney will be very much a different one to the one that we're in right now. So let's right now take you to Brisbane and catch up with Melinda Jennison. She is a buyer's agent from Streamline Property. And good morning, Melinda. Welcome back for the first time for this year. We talk about Sydney, you know, people moving into the regional areas.
It is happening where you are. People in Brisbane going into the regional Queensland areas.
It is happening to some extent from Brisbane into the regions, and it is a phenomenon that we're seeing across all capital city markets.
And people are looking for some draw cards of those regions, including more affordable housing and cheaper living costs, because these are the things that capital cities can often make it harder for people to stay in capital cities at times where housing just keeps escalating in value.
Yeah, living costs, what a nightmare every time we're going to the supermarket. Yes, can we bring the cost of food down, please? Now, Brisbane's listing volumes, that remains well below average.
With house and unit stocks down sharply compared to longer term norms, this constrained supply, it does mean that buyers are often competing for limited choices, tightening pricing power and keeping market momentum strong, even when sales volumes soften. What are some of your observations around this? How are the low listing shaping buyer competition in Brisbane as we speak?
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Chapter 3: How is Brisbane's housing market performing compared to Sydney and Melbourne?
Now, I mentioned at the start that Sydney residents are leading the nation with this regional migration with 41% considering a move. That is according to the Regional Australia Institute. And contrary to the stereotype of retiring baby boomers, 49% of Gen Z, that is aged between 18 and 29, are now the most likely age bracket to move into regional areas. Why?
Well, they are motivated by financial incentives. they're seeking a better quality of life and opportunities and they're moving away from expensive metro markets. Regional towns like Dubbo and Port Macquarie have emerged as top destinations for first-time buyers seeking that affordability and those locations are no longer considered secondary but
rather primary options for those seeking to escape the high cost of city living while still assessing employment opportunities. It is a Real Estate Monday and we are in Brisbane. Melinda is with us. And Brisbane's unit sector, we should talk about this because it has outpaced houses in recent performance.
driven by tighter apartment supply, strong affordability relative to detached housing and rising demand near transport and employment hubs, which really is positioning units in Brisbane as very attractive options. So units outperforming houses at the moment.
That is correct. And I believe a lot of this has come down to affordability pressures because housing's become less affordable and less accessible to a lot of people. So more buyers have therefore pivoted to units and townhouses. Now, for perspective, over the last 12 months, The unit market here in Brisbane has escalated 18.3% compared to the house market, which has increased 15.1%.
Now, compared to other capital cities around Australia, both segments of the market have certainly outperformed, but the unit result here in Brisbane is unique to our city. And a lot of that has been caused by a lifestyle change, demographic demand for inner and middle ring locations and that affordability pressure that I discussed earlier.
Yeah, and Brisbane's rental vacancy has to be said that that has stayed near historic lows, keeping upward pressure on rents and reinforcing investor interest, where there is still plenty of that going on. Tight rental conditions coupled with sustained tenant demand really does contribute to that rental growth that supports overall market confidence, rents are always a talking point.
I put that to you, Melinda, in Brisbane's rental market.
Yeah, that's so true. And it's a tough gig for people that are tenants looking for rental properties, because if they're looking for houses, rents have escalated 6.3% over the last 12 months. But if they're looking in the unit market or the townhouse market, it's even worse. Rents have escalated 6.8%. over that timeframe.
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