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A new report revealed that during the first half of 2023, virtual property prospectors favoured one state over others for both their next purchase and rental accommodation.
Virtual tours platform Little Hinges analysed over 2 million digital inspections from January to June 2023, and found Queensland recorded numbers of interstate buyer and renter digital inspections in the last six months, with a number of regions in the Sunshine State notching continued monthly growth.
During the period, over 30 per cent of buyer inspections and 25 per cent of rental inspections were conducted from states outside Queensland.
International buyers also continued to drive demand for properties in the state with over 7 per cent of buyer inspections and 8.2 per cent of rental inspections coming from overseas in the six months to June 2023.
Providing on-the-ground insights into the virtual inspection trends, Peter Florentzos, partner at LJ Hooker Property Partners, said there has been a “significant increase” in the number of prospective buyers looking to make the move to Queensland, particularly as confidence continues to increase after three consecutive holds on interest rates.
“While we’re still seeing more buyers than sellers, we’re starting to see more listings coming through based on the data that’s showing a big spike in the number of buyers looking to relocate to Queensland,” he commented.
Suzana Wade, principal of the Brisbane-based agency, Locate Property, noted interest in the state came from a particular region.
“Tenants from the southern states have been the ones making the most use of our digital inspection offering, with the majority looking to move from Victoria or NSW,” she said.
Across the state, the six-month digital inspection averages revealed the key regions attracting significant interest from property buyers and renters alike.
The Gold Coast emerged as a top destination, capturing the attention of both domestic and international buyers, with 40.2 per cent of inspections conducted by individuals from outside the state and 8.2 per cent from international buyers.
The coastal region’s rental market also saw a strong influx of interest, with 23 per cent of inspections from interstate tenants and 9.1 per cent from international renters.
Similarly, the Sunshine Coast experienced a surge in virtual property inspections, with 34.2 per cent of buyer inspections and 6.8 per cent of rental inspections coming from interstate.
International buyers also found the region attractive, accounting for 6.8 per cent of buyer inspections and 7.5 per cent of rental inspections.
In Brisbane, the digital inspection averages also showed noteworthy figures, with 20.1 per cent of buyer inspections and 6.3 per cent of rental inspections coming from interstate.
International interest was also observed in the city’s property market, with 17.1 per cent of rental inspections conducted by prospective tenants from outside the state and 8.1 per cent from international renters.
Little Hinges chief marketing officer, Mike York, noted interstate and international buyers were also active in June, as virtual inspections recorded high figures.
“Last month, we saw the highest percentages of buyers inspecting property from interstate (24.6 per cent), and the percentage of international inspections were the highest they have been since January 2022 (8.2 per cent).
During the six-month period, it was also observed that the highest percentage of renters conducted inspections from both interstate and international locations since the start of the firm’s digital rental inspection data collection in January 2023, indicating that the trend of inspecting properties sight unseen is continuing to gain traction.
“Agents are telling us that vendors and landlords are keen to tap into this trend, and are listing their properties in increasing numbers, buoyed by the fact that we’ve had two consecutive months of holds on interest rates,” Mr York noted.
He underlined real estate agents and property managers who do not utilise digital inspection tools to showcase their properties to interstate and international individuals may be missing out on a significant portion of potential buyers and renters, with roughly one-third of buyers and one-fourth of renters opting for virtual inspections.
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