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Foreign buyers are now snapping up a quarter of new properties in Queensland, according to NAB.
The bank’s Australian Residential Property Survey found that foreign buyers represented 24.4 per cent of new property demand in Queensland in the first quarter of 2014.
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The quarterly survey also found that foreign buyers throughout Australia claimed 13.9 per cent of new properties and 9.5 per cent of established dwellings.
Those are the highest figures recorded in the survey’s four-year history.
Overall housing market sentiment increased slightly during the first three months of 2014. Strong gains in NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory were offset by declines in Victoria and Western Australia.
Survey respondents identified credit availability and housing affordability as the biggest impediments to buying new property, although concerns about interest rates were also rising.
Job security was identified as the biggest impediment to buying existing property in all states except NSW, where lack of stock was seen as the biggest concern.
Respondents also forecast that housing prices would rise in all states over the next 12 months.
Brisbane is expected to lead the way with 6.4 per cent growth, followed by Perth with 5.6 per cent, Sydney with 5 per cent, Melbourne with 4.3 per cent and Adelaide with 3 per cent.
NAB’s chief group economist, Alan Oster, said housing affordability was still a serious concern for potential buyers.
“Yes, interest rates are low, but it’s still very expensive out there and so in a lot of ways I think people are also a little bit nervous about whether now is a great time, because as unemployment goes up that makes people a little bit wary about committing,” he said.
