Andrew Bell’s Market Wrap: The Impact of the 2022 Floods on Real Estate

Issue 06 | Thursday 24 March 2022 | The Impact of the 2022 Floods on Real Estate 

Hi Andrew Bell with you, We know first hand the devastating effects the flooding have had right down the eastern seaboard, it’s gut wrenching to see the devastating effects with loss of homes, loss of livelihoods, loss of valuable family heirlooms, loss of jobs, and for so many, a loss of heart as their world is changed forever. We can never do enough to help, nor can we ever do it fast enough. It’s such a mammoth undertaking to this extent of ever being experienced in this country before. Our thoughts are sincerely with everyone.

I’ve had lots of questions from people about how the floods might affect the Gold Coast, and of course the real estate market, I’ll come to that in just a moment. But, whilst I’m discussing that I thought today you would be interested to know that we’ve got some amazing brand new, luxury, 2 and 3 bedroom lakefront apartments in the heart of Robina, located opposite Bond University. Robina’s become such a central and very sought after market on the Coast, and these brand new apartments, which can be secured off the plan, are elevated and flood free, and just minutes from all the major conveniences. Some have rooftop terraces, but all have outstanding finishes. As I say, Robina is such a sought after location, but this will really tick the box for so many people.

Just in South East Queensland we know the insurance claims are over a billion dollars but governments are estimating 2.5 billion dollars on the QLD economy, that’s more than twice the impact on Covid, and so, you can get a sense of the scale of the effect.

I should say that the Gold Coast has been fortunate and fared better than the regions on either side of us. Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Gympie wore the brunt of the Queensland impact with Lismore, and Ballina to our south also suffered a battering. Here on the Gold Coast it passed through our region quickly, which meant the volume of water was not as great, and so, we have fared better than our adjoining neighbours. But, if we look at the lessons from the horrific 2011 Brisbane floods, we see that there was a huge increase in properties to come on the market for sale from people despondent, or financially couldn’t afford to rebuild, and simply wanted to exit their markets. Naturally, there was a higher level of avoidance by buyers to buy into those marketplaces affected by the flood. Records show that median Brisbane house prices fell some 11% as a result of the floods, and it took some three years for the market to recover.

Even for markets not affected directly by the floods they still copped a knock-on effect, and they also suffered price declines which took nearly two years for those markets to get back to their pre-flood levels. What’s going to be of more significance to the broader Australian property market would be the impact of all the floods together with the others in play at the moment like the war in Europe and so on. It is going to have an effect on our Real Estate market and we will have to see how that plays out in the coming months. 

In the short term, we’ve also got an added housing crisis. We already had a problem in many parts of Australia, and particularly the Gold Coast, where there simply weren’t enough properties for sale, or indeed for rent. Now, you’ve got people who’ve had to move out of their flooded homes, who’ll need to either buy another property or most likely rent a property for the next 6 to 24 months. That will see upward pressure most definitely on rental rates, and possibly real estate prices in some sectors of the market.

I am pleased to say that the Ray White team that has led the real estate industry as the largest fundraising office on the Gold Coast is in complete swing. We are working with authorities for the best way to rally support for the many, many needy, and we of course are doing everything we can to assist with the housing needs, which are vital to everyone.

A percentage of the funds raised at our upcoming Business Meets Sports Luncheon will be diverted to the fundraising for the flood victims, so it’s an even more compelling reason to join us on the 8th April at The Star Casino (more information and tickets here). The event will be a fabulous, fun day with some outstanding Q&A panels of both leading business and sports people that will give you some insights that you won’t get anywhere else. So, a fun fun day in what is such a negative world at present, but in doing so, doing great things for others

Look forward to being with you again in a fortnight’s time and acknowledging all the wonderful, wonderful people that have been out and about doing remarkable things to support our fellow Australians in their hour of need.

Warm Regards,

Andrew Bell, OAM
Chief Executive Officer
The Ray White Surfers Paradise Group

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER HERE