TASMANIA
NO STOPPING A PROLONGED PROPERTY BOOM
The early days of COVID were looking very bad for Hobart . Strong economic growth in Tasmania in recent years has been driven by tourism and foreign students , both of which shut down in the early months of the pandemic . After a decade of strong price growth , which accelerated quickly over the past five years , things didn ’ t really slow down at all and the city is now getting expensive .
While Hobart is the biggest city in Tasmania , the rest of the state has also seen very strong growth over the pandemic . There is no region that has recorded less than seven per cent price growth . The strong conditions that have been occurring in Hobart have made buyers look elsewhere and topping growth over the past 12 months has been the west coast of the state . Queenstown , the biggest town , is still very affordable with a median of $ 115,000 but it may not stay that way for much longer .
With the Tasmanian economy opening up again , and its popularity as a holiday destination , it looks like demand for housing will remain strong . A prolonged shortage of housing will also assist in maintaining price growth . Finally , the return of foreign students will be another kicker for growth .
Hobart is no longer the most affordable capital city in Australia and now has a median price higher than Adelaide , Darwin and Perth . It ’ s almost on par with Brisbane . The city now has its first $ 1 million suburb with Sandy Bay hitting a $ 1.1 million median during the pandemic .
180.00 160.00
140.00 120.00 120.00 100.00 100.00 80.00
60.00 60.00 40.00
20.00 0.00
HOBART HOUSE PRICE GROWTH , 1983 - 2021
1 / 6 / 83 1 / 9 / 84 1 / 12 / 85 1 / 3 / 87 1 / 6 / 88 1 / 9 / 89 1 / 12 / 90 1 / 3 / 92 1 / 6 / 93 1 / 9 / 94 1 / 12 / 95 1 / 3 / 97 1 / 6 / 98 1 / 9 / 99 1 / 12 / 00 1 / 3 / 02 1 / 6 / 03 1 / 9 / 04 1 / 12 / 05 1 / 3 / 07 1 / 6 / 08 1 / 9 / 09 1 / 12 / 10 1 / 3 / 12 1 / 6 / 13 1 / 9 / 14 1 / 12 / 15 1 / 3 / 17 1 / 6 / 18 1 / 9 / 19 1 / 12 / 20
Source : Corelogic House Price Index , Ray White
26