Property Point 5 December

Up until a couple of years ago real estate agents like me used to talk lovingly about the prices, activity and general positivity in our lives during “the peak” of the market back around 2008 through to 2012.

If a couple of real estate agents got talking it would be like an old married couple reflecting on the good old days. We didn’t hold hands but we used to nod knowingly as we reminisced about those days, when the market was strong, buyers were keen and prices were buoyant.

The change happened somewhere around late 2012 or early 2013, due to a few factors mostly relating to the coal sector. It’s ancient history now so there’s not  much point in going into it but the bad times and falling prices lasted until about 2018 when the market plateaued.

The market was pretty flat for the next few years but at least it wasn’t dropping.

The last four or five years have been strong, particularly the last few. In the 2024-2025 financial year, Mackay had the strongest growth of any market in the country with a property price increase of just under 20 per cent.

A lot of people lost their jobs and suffered financially during the down-turn and many were forced to sell when the market had fallen. It was sad and had a tragic impact on many people.

Those who were able to ride it out, and others who were in a position to buy at that time are in a good position now and you can only hope that those who suffered the brunt of the chaos have been able to rebuild and get going again.

That’s the thing about real estate; the vagaries of a market can have an enormous impact on what happens in people’s lives … whether it’s positive or negative.

Of course, we all know now that the market is strong and Mackay home owners have benefited enormously from the strong market.

But what about the people who are now frozen out, the people who are unable to break into the market? People on minimum wages, single parents, those who are just scraping by are  feeling frustrated and stressed. That’s not just in Mackay, it’s all over the country, but the change has been quick and dramatic in this town.

The combination of high immigration numbers and a lack of housing construction has created an under-supply of housing throughout the country and the result has been higher property prices and a lack of available rental properties.

There was a recent report in the Courier Mail newspaper showing that this state’s rental market is the most unaffordable in the country. It reported that the average regional household spends 32 per cent of their income on rent.

As a real estate agent, I don’t determine the strength of the market. My job is to get the best possible price for my client, the seller of the property, no matter whether the market is strong or weak.

I make no apologies for pushing to get the best price I can for my clients because that is what they are trusting and paying me to do.

But, as you move around Mackay and see the extent of the homelessness and see how difficult it is to pay exorbitant rents, you know there are two sides to a real estate boom.

We all want a strong real estate market so that those who work and save and are in a position to buy are able to benefit from their effort, particularly in retirement.

But we also want people to be able to afford rent, have a place to live and enjoy the benefits of a beautiful place like Mackay without excessive financial stress.

This is my final column for the year and, with these thoughts in mind, I wish readers a Merry Christmas and look forward to returning with my column if they let me get away with it again next year.

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