2021-12-13 GC Agenda - Item 9 - Attachment 2-Noosa Economic Plan Review Update Report 2021

                                   NOOSA LEP REVIEW - ECONOMIC ANALYSIS REPORT - Draft Report



6.        Property
6.1       House Prices
The Noosa housing market has been growing at an extremely rapid pace, making it one of the fastest
growing markets in Queensland. In 2020, house prices grew by a staggering 11.6% from 2019,
representing the single largest annual increase over the last 15 years. The median house price in
Noosa is well above Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, demonstrating the strength of
the market and the high level of appeal that the community has from buyers.
The high growth in median house prices is linked to a phenomenon of various households leaving
‘the City’ (which would include Melbourne and Sydney), where they can achieve a significant
premium for their property and using these funds to pay significant prices for homes in certain
regional destinations that provide a high level of amenity and lifestyle. This trend has accelerated
following the increase in ‘work-from-home arrangements’ resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other regions, such as the Southern Highlands in New South Wales, are experiencing similar growth
in house prices. Noosa has certainly experienced this phenomenon, which has contributed to making
housing affordability in the area worse.
Table 6.1. Median House Price by Local Government Area
                            Median Sale Price (YE Sept, $‘000) Average Annual Change (%)
 Local Government Area
                            2000 2010 2015 2019 2020 1yr              5yr 10yr 20yr
 Noosa                      $180 $540 $567 $735 $820 11.6 7.7               4.3     7.9
 Brisbane                   $163 $530 $600 $670 $705 5.2              3.3   2.9     7.6
 Gold Coast                 $193 $530 $560 $660 $690 4.5              4.3   2.7     6.6
 Sunshine Coast             $160 $482 $510 $605 $640 5.8              4.6   2.9     7.2
 Queensland                 $140 $425 $450 $486 $493 1.4              1.8   1.5     6.5
Source: QGSO (2021).


6.2       Housing Affordability
Given Noosa’s high housing prices but below average household incomes, housing affordability has
intensified as an ongoing issue for the region. Analysis shows that the house price to income ratio
(median house price divided by the median annual household income) for Noosa has increased from
9.6 in 2016 to 12.0 in 2020. This is almost twice the house price to income ratio for Queensland in
2020 (6.2). Further, housing affordability has remained relatively stable in Queensland since 2006,
rising from 5.8 in 2006 to 6.2 in 2020, in contrast to trends in Noosa.




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