ABS census data reveals a great migration to Queensland. What does this mean for the property market?

On June 28, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released 2021 Census data regarding the nation’s population. As of December 31, 2021, Australia’s population stood at 25,766,605 people, having grown 0.5 per cent over the past year.

The census reveals that New South Wales saw 0.1 per cent growth whilst Victoria saw a decline of 0.1 per cent. For these two states, the ABS attributes natural increase as the main contributing factor to population change.

The data for Queensland is significantly different, with the state having seen 1.4 per cent population growth over the previous year. This is the largest increase across all Australian states and territories.

According to the ABS, net interstate migration was the major contributor to Queensland’s population change.

Over the March 2021 quarter, the data shows Victoria and New South Wales losing 4,900 and 4,500 Australians to interstate migration respectively. Out of these figures, Victoria lost 2,900 people to Queensland while New South Wales lost 3,800 to the sunny state.

Queensland gained the most from this migration with an increase of 7,000 people. Among Australia's capital cities, it was Brisbane that gained the most through net internal migration with 3,300 people.

Comparatively, Melbourne lost 8,300 people to interstate migration, the most of any of Australia’s capital cities, followed closely behind by Sydney with 8,200 people lost to interstate migration.

The pandemic has spurred a recent uptake of the work-from-home lifestyle, driving Australians to seek the kind of affordable lifestyle upgrade that Queensland offers.

Due to this great Queensland migration, demand for homes in the sunny state has skyrocketed. But with the decline in building approvals and rising construction costs, the apartment market is largely undersupplied.

This is bound to raise property prices, as Brisbane is estimated to experience a shortfall of 16,000 apartments over the next four years. Yet Brisbane still sees high apartment rental yields of 5 per cent as recorded in March 2022.

Property investors believe that Queensland offers the best investment potential. Amidst the continued interstate migration to the sunny state and the historical demand for homes, the prospects for new developments in Queensland seem prosperous.

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