29 December 2012

Cheap homes around Brisbane after 2011 flood

House hunters watching their pennies can buy a three bedroom, weatherboard home within 15 kilometres of the CBD for around $300,000.

Such houses do exist, but there’s a catch.

They sit in the flood-prone suburb of Rocklea.

The home of the Brisbane Markets, where the median house price is $306,761, remains the most affordable suburb within 15 kilometres of the CBD, according to figures released by RP Data.

Prices in the area plunged in the order of 20 per cent after Rocklea was ravaged by Brisbane’s January 2011 flood.

Memories of the flood haven’t faded, according to Ray White agent Bernadette Howe.

‘‘But there are people who are willing to take the risk,’’ she said.

‘‘For some - young couples in particular - it’s all they can afford so close to the city and they see the suburb as the place to make their first step onto the property ladder.

‘‘Of course they’re very hopeful the suburb won’t flood in the next 10 years.’’

Meanwhile, Keperra is considered the most affordable suburb on the northern side of the river.

Coronis Realty agent Kelly Qualtrough said the suburb, nestled between Arana Hills and Upper Kedron, had once been dominated by housing commission properties and was therefore overlooked by buyers.

‘‘I’m seeing what happened to Stafford many years ago, where all those housing commission homes in the suburb were sold off, now happening to Keperra,’’ Ms Qualtrough said.

The median house price in Keperra is just over $400,000.

The suburbs of Nathan, Salisbury and Mount Gravatt are among the most affordable within 15 kilometres of the CBD on Brisbane’s southside.

Chermside West, Chermside, Virginia, Stafford and Stafford Heights are the most affordable suburbs in the city’s north.

Dutton Park, another suburb heavily affected by Brisbane’s flood, boasts the most affordable units within a 15 kilometre radius of the CBD.

RP Data research analyst Cameron Kusher said Brisbane’s market had remained flat yet volatile throughout 2012.

Over the past five years, Brisbane home values have declined at a rate of 0.4 per cent each year, he said.

‘‘There’s been no growth in the market since late 2007, so there is definitely a level of affordability returning to the Brisbane market,’’ he said.