COVID didn't trigger the SEQ market boom, it just brought it forward: Five minutes with Mosaic Property boss Brook Monahan

South East Queensland is arguably experiencing its strongest market in two decades, but it's not all down to the impact of COVID-19.

Mosaic Property founder and managing director Brook Monahan says the pandemic just brought forward the anticipated boom.

"We had been saying, well before COVID-19 hit, that we expected the market to boom around mid 2021" Monahan said.

"Rather than creating the boom, COVID just brought it forward six months or so.

"COVID just exacerbated existing trends," Monahan noted, adding that the interstate migration trend had been running hard since early to mid-2018.

"There was nothing new, apart from the fact COVID shone a spotlight on SEQ which had all of the components for a better lifestyle. It's affordability, solid infrastructure and pipeline and the fact it's a great place to live were key components of our market before COVID."

Monahan naturally highlighted the impacts of generous housing stimulus and fiscal support due to the pandemic keeping the property and job market afloat, but stopped short of suggesting those were the only reasons for the current boom times.

Mosaic's Mermaid Beach development Dawn. Image supplied

He cited the availability of credit and ongoing low interest rates as other key drivers.

There's also the fact that, apart from those who work in either the retail or aviation fields, many have increased their savings rates with the lack of expenditure on the likes of overseas travel and are putting their money in to the property market. And that's brought about the best market SEQ has seen in 20 years.

"It's been a long-time coming," Monahan says.

"We haven't seen a genuine broad based boom in SEQ since late 2001, which lasted until around early 2004," Monahan said.

Monahan just missed the boat on the last boom, founding Mosaic in 2004. But there's no looking back for Monahan, who initially started off restoring and building Queenslanders in Brisbane's affluent suburbs some 17 years ago.

Post the GFC, the company moved in to producing higher density projects, albeit relatively low density compared to the rest of the Brisbane market.

The change in demand for the larger owner-occupier hasn't caught the team cold either. Their projects have always been geared toward owner-occupiers.

The owner-occupier demographic has the key driver of the booming Gold Coast market for the last 12 months or so, with Mosaic seeing some of the quickest sales ever seen in the coastal Queensland hotspot.

Mosaic sold-out their $128 million Bela by Mosaic on Peerless Avenue, so when the opportunity arose to create a project less than 100 metres, Mosaic took the opportunity and launched Dawn.

"We had a heap of buyers who missed out on Bela who were immediately interested in Dawn", Monahan said. They saw the 30 level, 87 apartment tower, comprising just two and three bedroom apartments, sell out within two weeks of its launch.

Apart from a few buyers from Melbourne and Brisbane buying apartments as a second home, around 75 to 80 per cent were local owner-occupiers.

Mosaic are set to launch a couple more projects in 2021, having all-but sold out of their current portfolio on the market.

They still have a few apartments left in their Toowong project Kensington in Toowong, their eighth project the company have developed in Brisbane's inner west.

Designed in partnership with Cottee Parker, Kensington by Mosaic will home 63 two and three bedroom apartments and one penthouse over nine levels.

There will be a communal rooftop entertainment area with an infinity-edge pool, sun deck, barbecue and dining areas. 

Kensington by Mosaic is not farm from Mosaic's sold out The Patterson. The 62 apartments, predominantly secured local owner-occupiers, took just four weeks for 90 per cent of the $72 million building to sell last October.