Hervey Bay Property Market Update 1st Half of 2023
In Q1 2023, Hervey Bay recorded a median house price of $608,750, and a median unit price of $419,000. This represents annual (Q1 2022 – Q1 2023) median price growth of 1.5% for houses and 7.4% for units. That said, on a quarterly basis (Q4 2022 – Q1 2023) median house price grew by a slower rate, of 1.0%, and median unit price softened by -2.0% for units. This suggests that cash rate hikes have translated in the market. Sales did decline by -53.7% (to 239 houses) and -35.1% (to 96 units) in the past 12 months, indicating an undersupply of stock. At the same time, there is higher affordability for buyers.
Average vendor discounts between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022 have rapidly swung to a discount for both property types, of -3.2% for houses and -2.0% for units. Sellers are willing to accept below the initial listing price. Market conditions have shifted to favour buyers, as evident in average vendor discounting trend in the past 3 quarters.
House rental yields in Hervey Bay was 4.1% in March 2023, higher than Brisbane Metro (3.7%). This was paired with a 6.0% increase in median house rental price in the past 12 months to Q1 2023 (to $530 per week) and a 35.9% increase in the number of houses rented (to 352 houses). Average days on the market remained a low 23 days in Q1 2023. The same pattern can be seen in the unit rental market, confirming a resilient rental market in Hervey Bay.
2-bedroom houses have provided investors with +17.6% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $400 per week.
Herve Bay recorded a vacancy rate of 1.3% in March 2023, slightly above Brisbane Metro’s 0.9% average. Vacancy rates in Hervey Bay saw a slight spike in the last 12 months, potentially due to investors capitalising on a tight rental market. Yet it is still below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. Thus, a conducive investment environment, especially with higher affordability due to a slower pace in house price growth in the past quarter (Q4 2022 – Q1 2023).
