Brighter Buying

Market Update: Gentrification is Spreading, First Home Buyers take the lead and Variable lending rates dip below 2%

by Dan D'Silva, Property Consultant 30 July 2020

Gentrification is an influx of wealthier residents and businesses into once lower-income areas, think trendy new shops, renovations to older style homes and a younger population.

New research from The University of Queensland shows that suburbs within a 5 to 15-kilometre radius of Brisbane CBD are rapidly gentrifying, while inner-city suburbs are not seeing any change.

This is surprising and contradicts earlier urban geography theories stating gentrification as an “inner-city phenomenon”.

While gentrification pushes up property values, it does reduce availability of affordable housing to existing lower-income residents.

Suburbs within the five-to-15-kilometre radius on Brisbane’s northside experiencing the increased gentrification include Mitchelton, Enoggera, Stafford, Chermside, Wavell Heights, Nundah, Northgate & Virginia.

First home buyers are still dominating the market with favourable conditions for this demographic to get ahead, including record low interest rates.

Banks are now offering introductory variable rates of 1.99 per cent following the launch of the first fixed rate loan of less than 2 per cent, reported the Australian Financial Review this week.

But as always, we advise that you do your homework or enlist the help of a broker to make sure there are no sneaky surprises down the track.

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