Queensland’s premier, Anna Bligh, has indicated a new underground Metro for Brisbane and surrounding suburbs could be built by 2030.

Not to be outdone by Sydney’s CBD Metro fiasco, the premier has launched a vision for an underground light rail project linking Toowong, West End, the CBD, Newstead, Bowen Hills, Bulimba and Bowen Hills by 2030.

Queensland Rail is already midway through a $20 million feasibility study for an underground rail tunnel to replace the Merivale Rail Bridge at South Brisbane, which would allow extra trains to connect some new CBD underground stations by 2016.

But Ms Bligh said Brisbane’s Rapid Metro is beyond the cross river rail link – which is all heavy rail. She is talking about an underground metro system like you see in some of the great cities in the world, such as London.

She states that Brisbane needs an entirely new metro system just to support the CBD and will run completely separate from the heavy rail system already in place with further expansions in the pipeline.

“This is a new way of thinking about Brisbane that takes us to 2030.”

The rationale behind the vision is the indication that twice as many people will be trying to access the Brisbane CBD in the next 25 years with employment in the area expected to double from 200,000 to 400,000.

A prediction / forecast like this can cost any city an enormous amount of money, especially if it is wrong. I think we need to consider how we are going to be working in 25 years time. With the advancements in technology and with businesses looking for cheaper accommodation to house their businesses, the growth in CBD employment is unlikely to be anywhere near what it has been in the past. If anything, it may even remain stable. We are already seeing a number of high profile businesses moving their staff to middle ring and outer ring business parks where rent is cheaper and travel times are reduced for many of the staff.

We also need to factor in the possibilities that businesses, due to technology development, may not need to house all their staff in one location with the possibilities of business hubs being created along with the option that many of us may be working from home.

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The sunshine state… Queensland lived up to its name. Last Sunday I flew into the Gold Coast Airport for a 1 week trip through to the Sunshine Coast via Brisbane. We met with over 15 different developers including both those that are currently listed on the site as well as those that are looking to come online.

On Monday we met with Sunland and Niecon. We also walked through the main streets of the Gold Coast and noticed the lack of new development that was occurring except for a couple of major projects.

After driving through to Brisbane on Monday afternoon we spent Tuesday meeting with Vecchio Property Group, Meridien, Colliers, Aria Property Group and DTZ. It was a full day with some great feedback from those that are currently listed and those that weren’t were impressed with our offerings.

Wednesday in Brisbane was a public holiday due to Ekka. The city streets were quiet. I took a walk from the city across the foot bridge to Southbank… what a beautiful day. Southbank is definitely a favourite of mine, so close to the city with cafes, restaurants and more. Part of Southbank area includes manmade swimming pools and lagoons. It was packed, kids of full of life and families enjoying the day off work and school.

Thursday we met with Pradella in the morning along with a local real estate agency and Witt Property Group. After our final meeting we headed north to Mooloolaba, where they are currently doing some streetscape changes which see a more friendly pedestrian experience along the main strip of shops.

On Friday morning we met with Avara Property Group and RGD Property in Kawana. Kawana is amazing new city and I will spend more time discussing it in a future Blog post. In the afternoon we met with an FKP representative regarding Perigien Springs Land Estate and Reed Property in Maroochydore.

Saturday we met with Colliers Sunshine Coast in regards to Viridian Resort and Spa located just off Hasting Street in Noosa as well as the development manager from Settlers Cove.

The trip to Queensland was informative. We have learnt a lot about the different local markets and the new developments that will be coming up over the next 12 months. There are a lot of exciting new developments and Find Investment Property will be bringing you many of these investment opportunities when they first launch onto the market.

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The Find Investment Property team is currently exhibiting at the Home Buyers Show in Brisbane. Its been a fantastic event as many attendees have discovered who we are and they have all asked many questions. We will provide you with some more information about the event at a later date. For some they were able to get cheap tickets by using our special promotional code so if you intend to visit either the Sydney or Melbourne Home Buyers Shows, please check back with us to find out what our special promotion code is to get cheap tickets.

Thank you to those that visited us at thoe property expo and we look forward to seeing you on our main site: www.findinvestmentproperty.com.au

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The May edition of the Midwood Queensland Investment Report has suggested that Queensland house prices will hit bottom by the end of this year and return to a peak at the end of 2011.  Back in November 2008, the Midwood report predicted a 20% fall for the Queensland housing market. With the Gold Coast already falling 16% since the peak in December 2007 and Brisbane falling 10%, it looks like the bottom is near.

Bill Morris, author of the Midwood report suggests that the Gold Coast and Brisbane markets will lead the sector to a recovery followed closly by Townsville and Cairns.

It sounds like Mr Morris is banking on interest rates staying low and more developers pulling out of new developments as financing becomes more difficult. Unit purchases in the Gold Coast in the month of May have been encouraging with 79 sales in the month. It is the best figure over the last 9 months.

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Home Buyers Show Brisbane

Brisbane Property Expo on 13th and 14th June 2009 at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre. Perfect for property investors and home buyers.

Find Investment Property is excited to announce that we will be participating at the upcoming Home Buyer Show at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre on Saturday 13 and Sunday 13 June. It is the only major event in Australia dedicated to helping people actually buy or sell a new or established home or apartment whether as a primary residence or investment property.

The dream of home ownership is alive and well in Australia, and with interest rates at record lows, property prices cooling, substantial Government grants still available and a strong rental market, home buyers and property investors are returning to the market in large numbers.

Now more than ever, home buyers and investors need to do their research, understand market conditions, and have access to all the right independent advice from reliable sources to make informed buying decisions to enable them to get on the right path to the right property.

The Home Buyer Show will provide first, second and third time property buyers with all the information they need to help discover the smart way to finance, find and buy a home or investment property – direct from the experts.

Some of the major show highlights include:

• Free seminars from Australia’s leading property and finance experts in government and industry associations
• Master Builders Zone – Master Builders members, Queensland’s leading building services companies, will be showcasing a wide range of new homes, display villages and house & land packages.
• Property Investor Zone (sponsored by Find Investment Property)- educating property investors of all levels including all the latest investment properties for sale on the market today with loads of experts on hand to provide independent, impartial advice.
• Apartment Living Zone – showcasing some of the latest apartment, unit and townhouse developments in SE Queensland

As part of a special promotion, we are pleased to offer all of our clients, partners and friends unlimited $5 tickets to the Home Buyer Show which are normally $15. Simply visit the website www.homebuyershow.com.au and when purchasing tickets quote the special promotional code FIP.

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Colliers International has released their Brisbane March quarter apartment report identifying 6 major projects that have been put on hold due to the current economic climate. Major developments which they identified included the $1billion Vision Tower, $700million Trilogy Tower, $500million Empire Square residential and hotel development, $1.1billion Eagle street Pier Project by Stockland on the Brisbane River.

One developer surging ahaead with their development is Devine Properties who is developing the $1billion French Quarter. They hope to achieve sales success similiar to their past project Hamilton Harbour.

Other developers looking to move forward to their developments include Meriton and North Build Construction.

Other projects that have not progressed include Hogan Place, Silverpoint Towers and Q-Centre tower.

This report focuses on Queensland where many of Australia’s high profile development were to take place. The same reults of shelved developments around Australia can been seen in all the major cities.

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The AFR have put together an overview for each of the capital cities in each state of Australia. Below is a quick summary of each:

Sydney (-7.31% last 12 months)

• - Top end market is suffering
• - First Home owners Boosted grants + Low interest rates are creating a floor in the housing market at the lower end
• - Homes under $500,000 are the strongest sales seen in many years
• - Cheaper to buy than rent in some areas
• -Expected flat 2009 with growth returning in 2010
• - Rising unemployment will apply pressure on Sydney house prices

Perth (-10.1% last 12 months)

• - Perth house prices likely to remian depressed for the next 12 months
• - Pace of the drop in property prices is set to slow down
• - Some perth suburbs are still growing
• - RP Data using different methodology calculates Perth’s property decline at only 6%
• - Market likley to go sideways due to rising unemployment
• - First home buyer still strong

Darwin (+10.8% last 12 months)

• - Continue to power ahead
• - Properties are selling very quickly – usually within 2 weeks if priced between $300,000 and $750,000
• - Population forecast to grow by 70% to more than 200,000 people by 2030
• - Driving growth is defence and international resource investment for gas and oil
• - Vacancy rates are negligable and average yields are 6.3% on units and 5.3% on houses
• - Darwin is Australias most expensive city at the moment to live in according to HTW’s monthly review

Adelaide (-1.9% latest 12 months)

• - First home buyer market is still very hot
• - Defence Housing Australia looking to purchase a number of sites for their recruits
• - Upper market, above $600,000, is a little slower

Brisbane (-6.3% latest 12 months)

• - Market has slowed as property prics ahve caught up with both Melbourne and Sydney
• - RP Datat only shows a fall of 3.42%
• - House prices under $500,000 have increased by as much as 10% according to Michael Matusik
• - Sales volumns are down 40% in some locations of Brisbane
• - Top end market still suffering as more properties come on tot he market than are sold

Melbourne (-6.7% latest 12 months)

• - Static prices predicted for the next 6 months and then moderate growth
• - Stability and price growth based on conitnued population growth, continued Goverment grants and a reaosnablely health economy
• - Of the top 20 growth suburbs in Melbourne, 15 had a median price of under $500,000

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