Queensland, April 2004

Queensland story, April 2004

Those bloody smug Queenslanders. For years they went on about their state being beautiful one day, perfect the next and now everyone’s beating a path to their door.
With lower house prices than New South Wales, Queensland has been attracting a flood of southern refugees for the last two years. And is it surprising?
Brisbane’s inner city suburb of Paddington - which is similar to Sydney’s Paddington with swanky cafes and shops and easy access to the city - has three-bedroom houses for sale between $500,000 and $800,000. In Sydney’s Paddington, you’d be hard-pressed to find a three-bedroom terrace for less than $1 million.
Even Ascot and Hamilton, the traditional tree-lined “old money” suburbs of Brisbane, had a 2003 median house price of less than $763,000. Sydney’s Darling Point had a 2003 median house price of $3.365 million and at Point Piper it was closer to $3.6 million.
Queensland has cheaper stamp duty, cheaper petrol and government-initiated business incentives. It is the state with the healthiest property market in Australia, the most vibrant population growth with 85,900 new people in 2003, and the lowest unemployment of any state in Australia.
And that weather. Yes, we know it’s glorious but it’s not the only thing attracting 740 interstate migrants each week to Queensland.
Brisbane restaurateur Marilyn Domenech – a former Sydneysider who has lived in up north for 30 years – says Brisbane has shaken off its country town image and has a lively restaurant, cultural and shopping scene.
“It’s been dormant up here for 25 years but the whole place has changed now that the inner city suburbs have gone off and there are just so many things for people to do,” she says.
“It used to be a bit of a backwater but now it’s lively and has a fantastic night life.”
PRDnationwide Queensland’s research director Tim Lawless says some people are even talking about Brisbane being larger than Melbourne in another 15 years time.
“Our median house price is certainly catching up with Melbourne’s so there is a chance that Melbourne could be left behind,” he says.
South East Queensland’s geographical abundance of beaches, rivers and stunning hinterland has attracted southerners who want their share of the seachange lifestyle without paying astronomical southern prices.
Australian Property Monitors’ Louis Christopher says the average property price gains in South East Queensland were around 40 per cent last year, but the market is coming to the end of its growth cycle and only certain locations can expect strong growth this year.
Lawless says Queensland’s property market will continue to grow because of the strong economy and population growth as well as the attractive lifestyle on offer.
Moreover, Queensland architecture has come of age and there are a range of modern housing styles available, with the best taking advantage of the state’s amazing climate.
Archicentre’s Ron Tanton says the market is finally demanding well-designed property and Queensland architects are creating energy efficient, well-designed houses that open up to the outdoors.
“Houses in Noosa and the Bay Islands off Brisbane really lead the way,” he says. “I think now the southern states are looking towards us to see what you can do to respond to climate and topography.”

THE BIG SMOKE

The Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane have been the big drawcard for refugees from the southern states.
Julieanne Wilson, who grew up on the Gold Coast but spent 10 years working in Sydney before moving to Brisbane last year, says Brisbane is more cosmopolitan than she had imagined.
“The city has changed so much in the last 10 years – it was a bit of a country town atmosphere but now that so many people have come from the southern states the city has really matured,” she says.
Marilyn Domenech and her husband run Baguette restaurant on Racecourse Rd in Ascot and Bretts Wharf Seafood Restaurant on the river.
“When we first opened on Racecourse Rd, we were the only restaurant around and now there are 17 cafes and restaurants just on the same street,” she says.
The restaurateur says Brisbane’s property boom in inner city suburbs like Newstead, New Farm, Teneriffe and Fortitude Valley has transformed the city in the last five years.
“We are hoping that more young professionals come up here because years ago we had absolutely no luck attracting them to Brisbane,” she says.
“We used to advertise that we would pay Sydney salaries and we would tell people property costs a third of the price and you can afford to send your kids to private schools but they didn’t care – they saw that Brisbane was not a fabulous place so they would not come.”

THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Australia’s largest recruitment company Hudson has experienced an increase in professionals from Sydney and Melbourne seeking jobs in Brisbane.
Hudson’s Gina McLellan says the employment market in Brisbane has blossomed in the last five years, and salaries are now only 10 to 20 per cent lower than salaries in Sydney.
“That gap used to be more like 30 per cent and in some cases it was 50 per cent less – most people left Brisbane to work in Sydney and Melbourne and now they are coming home,” she says.
But what is the future of migration to Queensland? Will people keep flocking to the sunshine state in the large numbers they have been?
Australian Property Monitors Louis Christopher says the long term trend for migration to Queensland will continue, but no-one really knows how strong numbers will be in the future.
“There is one thing statistics don’t measure, and that’s the people who go to Queensland and then come back,” he says.
“Moving north isn’t for everyone, and it’s only a matter of time before some of those people head home.”

Nick Burke and Julieanne Wilson moved from Darling Point and Bondi to East Brisbane in 2003

Julieanne Wilson and Nick Burke decided to pack up their flats in Darling Point and Bondi and move to Brisbane late last year.
Burke says the affordability of Brisbane and the easy lifestyle made the call north impossible to ignore.
“The idea of moving was a bit left of field, but it’s worked really well,” he says. “We got a three-bedroom house with a swimming pool for $400,000-odd and we are just two kilometres from the city.”
Wilson and Burke bought in East Brisbane, close to the inner city café society of New Farm and Fortitude Valley, and estimate it would cost them at least $1million or $2 million for a similar house close to the city in Sydney.
“We walk or ride our bikes to work every day and it only takes 20 minutes to get anywhere,” says Wilson.
“It’s just so easy to live here and there are plenty of things to do – there are great restaurants, lots of little cultural events, growers markets, everything you could want.
The couple, in their early 30s, couldn’t see a future staying in Sydney and owning their own home.
“All of my mates were in their early 30s and they were all professionals but they don’t own property because it is beyond their capabilities to get into the market when the Sydney lifestyle costs so much,” Wilson says.
Wilson, a lawyer who now works as a workers compensation consultant, and Burke, an investment services consultant, says the career opportunities in Brisbane are as good as those in Sydney.
“Sure you might earn 10 per cent less here, but then property is a third of the price of Sydney,” Burke says.

The Van de Waters moved from Kellyville to Labrador on the Gold Coast in 2003
When the Van de Waters stepped out of their waterfront apartment to buy an ice cream the other day, they bumped into three other couples from Sydney’s Hills District.
“Everyone’s come up here because they are retired and it’s time for them to have some fun,” explains Rhonda Van de Water, 57.
Rhonda and her husband Rudy sold their four-bedroom house in Kellyville last year after buying a two-bedroom two bathroom apartment overlooking The Broadwater in Labrador.
“We only lived in a quarter of the house at Kellyville because there were only two of us and while I did have some reservations about going into an apartment, now I’d recommend it to anyone,” she says.
“We have five-star facilities here with two pools, a spa, a sauna, a gymnasium and a library - the site manager waits on us hand and foot and the other people in the apartment are lovely and we get together for barbecues.”
Van de Water says there is no way the Hills District could offer her and her husband the active waterside lifestyle that the Gold Coast can.
“It would take us an hour and a half just to drive to the beach in Sydney – here we can walk to the water,” she says.
The Van de Waters would have loved to retire in Sydney, but they wanted to live close to the water.
“We looked everywhere, Cronulla, the northern beaches, the central coast but it was all just a bit out of our reach,” she says.
The couple had money left over after selling their house at Kellyville and are able to live more cheaply in Queensland.
“Everything is cheaper here, except for food – stamp duty is cheap, petrol is cheap and there is just so much to do that doesn’t cost a lot of money,” she says.
“We walk every day and have a swim or a spa and we’ve bought a fishing rod that we haven’t even used yet because we haven’t had time.

The Bijarys moved from Neutral Bay to Trinity Beach in Far North Queenlsand in 2002

Jody and Said Bijary are finally living the great Australian dream of living by a beach fringed with palm trees.
The couple, aged in their 30s, bought a three-bedroom house near Palm Cove for $155,000 in late 2002, when Jody got a job with Cairns-based Australian Airlines.
“This area has really boomed in the last year and I think it can keep growing if it can attract more business other than just tourism and hospitality,” she says.
The couple were renting a flat in Neutral Bay and working several jobs when the job offer with Australian Airlines turned up and seemed too good to turn down.
“I wanted to keep flying internationally,” says Jody, who had been a flight attendant with Ansett. “And moving to Cairns was the only way I could do that – poor Said, he just got dragged along with me.”
Not that Said is complaining. The Iranian born engineer had always thought Australia was a tropical island but after living in Sydney for more than 10 years had started to think the picture books he had been shown as a child were all wrong.
“This place is really like something out of a postcard, it is beautiful and the weather is always warm,” he says.
Jody Bijary says the living is easy in Far North Queensland, with an abundance of outdoor activities and sporting events on offer.
“The hardest thing is dealing with the humidity in the summer. It can be absolutely stifling but it’s only for three months of the year,” she says.


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Queensland story, April 2004 Those bloody smug Queenslanders. For years they went on about their state being beautiful one day, perfect the next and now everyone’s beating a path to their door. With lower house prices than New South Wales, Queensland has been attracting a flood of southern refugees for the last two years. And is it surprising? Brisbane’s inner city suburb of Paddington - which is similar to Sydney’s Paddington with swanky cafes and shops and easy access to the city - has three-bedroom houses for sale between $500,000 and $800,000. In Sydney’s Paddington, you’d be hard-pressed to find a three-bedroom terrace for less than $1 million. Even Ascot and Hamilton, the traditional tree-lined “old money” suburbs of Brisbane, had a 2003 median house price of less than $763,000. Sydney’s Darling Point had a 2003 median house price of $3.365 million and at Point Piper it was closer to $3.6 million. Queensland has cheaper stamp duty, cheaper petrol and government-initiated business incentives. It is the state with the healthiest property market in Australia, the most vibrant population growth with 85,900 new people in 2003, and the lowest unemployment of any state in Australia. And that weather. Yes, we know it’s glorious but it’s not the only thing attracting 740 interstate migrants each week to Queensland. Brisbane restaurateur Marilyn Domenech – a former Sydneysider who has lived in up north for 30 years – says Brisbane has shaken off its country town image and has a lively restaurant, cultural and shopping scene. “It’s been dormant up here for 25 years but the whole place has changed now that the inner city suburbs have gone off and there are just so many things for people to do,” she says. “It used to be a bit of a backwater but now it’s lively and has a fantastic night life.” PRDnationwide Queensland’s research director Tim Lawless says some people are even talking about Brisbane being larger than Melbourne in another 15 years time. “Our median house price is certainly catching up with Melbourne’s so there is a chance that Melbourne could be left behind,” he says. South East Queensland’s geographical abundance of beaches, rivers and stunning hinterland has attracted southerners who want their share of the seachange lifestyle without paying astronomical southern prices. Australian Property Monitors’ Louis Christopher says the average property price gains in South East Queensland were around 40 per cent last year, but the market is coming to the end of its growth cycle and only certain locations can expect strong growth this year. Lawless says Queensland’s property market will continue to grow because of the strong economy and population growth as well as the attractive lifestyle on offer. Moreover, Queensland architecture has come of age and there are a range of modern housing styles available, with the best taking advantage of the state’s amazing climate. Archicentre’s Ron Tanton says the market is finally demanding well-designed property and Queensland architects are creating energy efficient, well-designed houses that open up to the outdoors. “Houses in Noosa and the Bay Islands off Brisbane really lead the way,” he says. “I think now the southern states are looking towards us to see what you can do to respond to climate and topography.” THE BIG SMOKE The Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane have been the big drawcard for refugees from the southern states. Julieanne Wilson, who grew up on the Gold Coast but spent 10 years working in Sydney before moving to Brisbane last year, says Brisbane is more cosmopolitan than she had imagined. “The city has changed so much in the last 10 years – it was a bit of a country town atmosphere but now that so many people have come from the southern states the city has really matured,” she says. Marilyn Domenech and her husband run Baguette restaurant on Racecourse Rd in Ascot and Bretts Wharf Seafood Restaurant on the river. “When we first opened on Racecourse Rd, we were the only restaurant around and now there are 17 cafes and restaurants just on the same street,” she says. The restaurateur says Brisbane’s property boom in inner city suburbs like Newstead, New Farm, Teneriffe and Fortitude Valley has transformed the city in the last five years. “We are hoping that more young professionals come up here because years ago we had absolutely no luck attracting them to Brisbane,” she says. “We used to advertise that we would pay Sydney salaries and we would tell people property costs a third of the price and you can afford to send your kids to private schools but they didn’t care – they saw that Brisbane was not a fabulous place so they would not come.” THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES Australia’s largest recruitment company Hudson has experienced an increase in professionals from Sydney and Melbourne seeking jobs in Brisbane. Hudson’s Gina McLellan says the employment market in Brisbane has blossomed in the last five years, and salaries are now only 10 to 20 per cent lower than salaries in Sydney. “That gap used to be more like 30 per cent and in some cases it was 50 per cent less – most people left Brisbane to work in Sydney and Melbourne and now they are coming home,” she says. But what is the future of migration to Queensland? Will people keep flocking to the sunshine state in the large numbers they have been? Australian Property Monitors Louis Christopher says the long term trend for migration to Queensland will continue, but no-one really knows how strong numbers will be in the future. “There is one thing statistics don’t measure, and that’s the people who go to Queensland and then come back,” he says. “Moving north isn’t for everyone, and it’s only a matter of time before some of those people head home.” Nick Burke and Julieanne Wilson moved from Darling Point and Bondi to East Brisbane in 2003 Julieanne Wilson and Nick Burke decided to pack up their flats in Darling Point and Bondi and move to Brisbane late last year. Burke says the affordability of Brisbane and the easy lifestyle made the call north impossible to ignore. “The idea of moving was a bit left of field, but it’s worked really well,” he says. “We got a three-bedroom house with a swimming pool for $400,000-odd and we are just two kilometres from the city.” Wilson and Burke bought in East Brisbane, close to the inner city café society of New Farm and Fortitude Valley, and estimate it would cost them at least $1million or $2 million for a similar house close to the city in Sydney. “We walk or ride our bikes to work every day and it only takes 20 minutes to get anywhere,” says Wilson. “It’s just so easy to live here and there are plenty of things to do – there are great restaurants, lots of little cultural events, growers markets, everything you could want. The couple, in their early 30s, couldn’t see a future staying in Sydney and owning their own home. “All of my mates were in their early 30s and they were all professionals but they don’t own property because it is beyond their capabilities to get into the market when the Sydney lifestyle costs so much,” Wilson says. Wilson, a lawyer who now works as a workers compensation consultant, and Burke, an investment services consultant, says the career opportunities in Brisbane are as good as those in Sydney. “Sure you might earn 10 per cent less here, but then property is a third of the price of Sydney,” Burke says. The Van de Waters moved from Kellyville to Labrador on the Gold Coast in 2003 When the Van de Waters stepped out of their waterfront apartment to buy an ice cream the other day, they bumped into three other couples from Sydney’s Hills District. “Everyone’s come up here because they are retired and it’s time for them to have some fun,” explains Rhonda Van de Water, 57. Rhonda and her husband Rudy sold their four-bedroom house in Kellyville last year after buying a two-bedroom two bathroom apartment overlooking The Broadwater in Labrador. “We only lived in a quarter of the house at Kellyville because there were only two of us and while I did have some reservations about going into an apartment, now I’d recommend it to anyone,” she says. “We have five-star facilities here with two pools, a spa, a sauna, a gymnasium and a library - the site manager waits on us hand and foot and the other people in the apartment are lovely and we get together for barbecues.” Van de Water says there is no way the Hills District could offer her and her husband the active waterside lifestyle that the Gold Coast can. “It would take us an hour and a half just to drive to the beach in Sydney – here we can walk to the water,” she says. The Van de Waters would have loved to retire in Sydney, but they wanted to live close to the water. “We looked everywhere, Cronulla, the northern beaches, the central coast but it was all just a bit out of our reach,” she says. The couple had money left over after selling their house at Kellyville and are able to live more cheaply in Queensland. “Everything is cheaper here, except for food – stamp duty is cheap, petrol is cheap and there is just so much to do that doesn’t cost a lot of money,” she says. “We walk every day and have a swim or a spa and we’ve bought a fishing rod that we haven’t even used yet because we haven’t had time. The Bijarys moved from Neutral Bay to Trinity Beach in Far North Queenlsand in 2002 Jody and Said Bijary are finally living the great Australian dream of living by a beach fringed with palm trees. The couple, aged in their 30s, bought a three-bedroom house near Palm Cove for $155,000 in late 2002, when Jody got a job with Cairns-based Australian Airlines. “This area has really boomed in the last year and I think it can keep growing if it can attract more business other than just tourism and hospitality,” she says. The couple were renting a flat in Neutral Bay and working several jobs when the job offer with Australian Airlines turned up and seemed too good to turn down. “I wanted to keep flying internationally,” says Jody, who had been a flight attendant with Ansett. “And moving to Cairns was the only way I could do that – poor Said, he just got dragged along with me.” Not that Said is complaining. The Iranian born engineer had always thought Australia was a tropical island but after living in Sydney for more than 10 years had started to think the picture books he had been shown as a child were all wrong. “This place is really like something out of a postcard, it is beautiful and the weather is always warm,” he says. Jody Bijary says the living is easy in Far North Queensland, with an abundance of outdoor activities and sporting events on offer. “The hardest thing is dealing with the humidity in the summer. It can be absolutely stifling but it’s only for three months of the year,” she says.