Sunday Mail Brisbane

Courtney Snowden

The race to buy in Brisbane before 2032 is on, with more than 1.5 million Australians expected to try and lock down their own slice of the River City before the Olympics comes to town.

A new survey by Finder found that 7 per cent of Australians planned to buy property in Brisbane in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. That equates to around 1.5 million people hoping to create their own Olympic gold through capital growth. The research also found that one in ten Queenslanders wanted to buy in Brisbane in hopes of experiencing strong price growth. Around 8 per cent of New South Wales residents were prepared to buy north of the border to take advantage of Olympic value gains, while 6 per cent of Victorians were also keen to invest in Brisbane real estate.

Finder personal finance expert Sarah Megginson said the Games might still be nine years away, but the race for Brisbane property had already begun. “Brisbane is in the global spotlight and that buzz is translating into serious buyer interest,” she said. “With so many people eyeing Brisbane property, we’re likely to see demand outpace supply, and that can put upward pressure on prices.”

Terry Ryder, director of real estate research company Hotspotting, said history has shown that Olympic host cities tend to see increases in home prices in the lead-up to the Games. “In the five years leading up to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, property prices rose by 130 per cent,” he said. He noted that since it was announced Brisbane would host the 2032 Olympics, median house prices have surged in the city as well as on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, rising from between $650,000 and $750,000 in 2021 to about $1 million.

Brisbane real estate agent Ally Edmonds, of Place Bulimba, said savvy buyers are already acting in anticipation of a pre-Olympics price boom. “I’m selling a boutique apartment project in Kangaroo Point targeting the downsizer market that won’t be completed until 2027,” she said. “What I’m seeing is people buying now so they don’t miss the boat.”