• CHARLOTTE DURUT REAL ESTATE REPORTER
  • THE COURIER-MAIL
  • JULY 03, 2014 12:00AM
  • Source: couriermail.com.au

BRISBANE’s housing market recovered faster after the 2011 floods than similar natural disasters in Sydney and Canberra.

A Queensland University of Technology (QUT) study has revealed property prices rebounded within 12 months of the floods compared to four years in the southern cities.

The stigma of buying in a flood-prone suburb was also short lived for middle and high-value homes but flood fears remain in suburbs with low median house prices, even in areas where not all homes were devastated by floods.

Property economics expert Professor Chris Eves said previous studies found natural disasters had resulted in up to a 35 per cent difference in values between affected and non-affected properties.

But according to his study, listings in flood-affected suburbs had increased just two to three months after the floods.

“If the floods had occurred in the peak of 2006 when there was a lot of supply, it would have taken a lot longer for Brisbane’s market to recover,” he said.

“But in 2011, there was very little construction and supply as well as low vacancy rates and we didn’t have a lot of choice.”

While the stigma of the floods had a minimal ongoing effect on prices, Prof Eves said low-value suburbs including Goodna and Oxley were the exception.

“Median house prices in low-value flood-affected suburbs dropped 22.7 per cent in the three months following the floods with a greater number of flood-damaged homes sold,” Prof Eves said.

The January 2011 floods. Photo Bruce Long

The January 2011 floods. Photo Bruce Long