Andrew Bell’s Market Wrap: Australians are on the move

Issue 24 | Thursday 1 December 2022 | Australians are on the move

Hi Andrew Bell and here we are in the final weeks of the year. I think we all say it every year, but my God this is the fastest year that I can remember. The Gold Coast is really finishing on a strong note.

The latest Census has shown that more people are moving to Queensland from other States and Territories than anywhere else in Australia. That Census showed that in the 5 years and up to the 2021 Census that net 100,000 people moved to Queensland, and get this, the next largest population movement was to Tasmania which picked up 15,000 people, followed by the ACT with 10,000. Yes, you are wondering about New South Wales and Victoria, well, New South Wales saw the largest net loss with over 102,000 people moving out of the State, and Victoria amazingly just 10,000. There has been so much talk about the movement out of Victoria, but interestingly whilst a lot of people did move from Victoria to Queensland, a lot of New South Wales people moved from New South Wales to Victoria to balance up their loss.

Yes, we all think it’s downsizing retirees that move the most. As they reach retirement age they might retire to the Gold Coast, or the Sunshine Coast, but that’s not the case either. The median age of people who moved in the last 5 years was 33 years of age. But, remembering the median age is a balance between all people who move inclusive of young children and retirees.

The data suggests that people are moving for housing suitability and affordability as well as employment opportunities. Whilst Queensland is a major winner in the national migration stakes, you can see the trend is strongly against capital cities. In the 2021 Census, there was a net loss of 160,100 from Australian Capital Cities, whilst in the previous Census in 2016, it was only 43,000 people.

Now one of the things that we have learned is that when people come to Queensland on holidays it pre-empts their thinking about the move to live here. It’s so often that when they look at their real estate options, and for many, decide to buy then and there on the spot. It’s part of the reason why our big Event in January is so successful. We create significantly more buyers because they are here on holiday and have the time to look for their real estate preferences.

So, looking at that we see an incredible pickup in tourism in recent months. The latest official figures came out for August that showed an incredible pickup in domestic tourism spending, that is what people spend when holidaying here in Queensland. There was a 64% increase in domestic spending between what was a normal tourism year, back in 2019 pre-Covid and looking at the month of August, compared to the August that just passed. Back in August 2019, there was just on $1.5 billion dollars spent in Queensland on domestic tourism, whereas in August of this year that had risen to just under $2.5 billion. Wow, what an incredible increase. One can only imagine what the Christmas/January holiday period will be like this year on the Coast. The streets have been packed for weeks now and it’s outside the normal window of high tourist numbers. Speaking to most of the major hotels, it’s a full house sign that is upright throughout December and January, and so we are really expecting some amazing results this Christmas/New Year. It’s certainly a great sign for The Event 2023. Don’t forget if you are giving thought to selling properties reach out to us via the contact form below. This will be your best opportunity of selling in the current real estate cycle, and certainly for the next few years.

We are getting closer to the close-off for The Event 2023, limited availability for anyone wanting to be part of the program, so please ring today.

Meanwhile, I hope you are in the festive spirit. As I said in my last report, let’s really make this a great happy Christmas, get into the swing and be the leader of the Christmas spirit amongst your family and friends.

Warm Regards,

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

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER HERE