- Positive outlook for property in Brisbane, market cycles likely catching up to meet demand
- Potential short-term oversupply could result if athlete villages and similar are converted to residential accommodation
- Short-term rentals like Airbnb unlikely to cause too large an issue for long-term renters
Update: The 2032 Games have now officially been awarded to Brisbane.
The news is awash with the buoyed Brisbane bid for the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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The Property Tribune takes a look into what the residential property market will look like when the games come to town.
The economy and the excitement
Professor John Quiggin from the University of Queensland School of Economics told The Property Tribune it is unlikely there will be long-term benefits from international exposure.
That doesn’t go to say there will be no benefit at all, with some academics and The Property Council in Queensland both touting the benefits of construction and jobs. If done right, the Olympics facilities won’t be an economic drain nor become white elephants.
Olympic by brand, Olympic by nature?
The Property Tribune asked Bond University’s Honorary Adjunct Professor, Dr Clive Warren, what we can expect of the residential property market in Brisbane when the Olympics come and go.
Dr Warren drew from the Sydney 2000 Games to explain:
“What I think is the case is that the gentrification of the areas around the Olympic site were brought forward and there was a positive price effect in the area. This is also coupled with a general positive impact on the Sydney economy,”
Dr Clive Warren, Honorary Adjunct Professor, Bond University
Areas surrounding the main event were continually called the Olympic park lending it a certain prestige too, Dr Warren said “Certainly sites like the Sydney and indeed London Olympic sites are still referred to / known as the Olympic site and so maintain some prestige associated with the games. It is not clear how long this might last but is likely to be a considerable length of time. Westfield London at White City is still often referred to as the Olympic site and that dates back to 1908.”
Will Airbnb shaft long term renters?
The Property Tribune previously reported that many Aussies will be forced to revise their view of the Australian dream, not homeowners, but home renters – long term.
Large events like the Olympics tend to drive up accommodation demands, hotels and short term rentals alike.
Dr Warren told The Property Tribune that though it will definitely put pressure on long term rentals in locations close to the Olympic events and transport hubs, it “will be particularly pronounced in the more high-end lets which are more suited to the holiday market than normal family housing in the suburbs.”
Pent up COVID demand, market cycles, swings and roundabouts?
COVID has buffeted the market thoroughly, but what effect will the Olympics have on property prices and cycles?
Dr Warren said that there are always peaks and throughs in the cycle, and “There is also currently an increase in the number of people relocating to the South East Queensland area as part of the Covid response. 2032 is a long way off and the market will cycle through and meet any increased demand.”
