Suburbs most affected by Brisbane floods outperforming rest of city

Brisbane suburbs affected by the 2011 flood are outperforming the rest of the city, new research shows.

RiskWise Property Research said that of the 20 suburbs affected by floods, 19 (or 95%) have outperformed the rest of the city in terms of housing prices.

The location of these suburbs continues to make them attractive to buyers, says RiskWise CEO Doron Peleg.

“After the 2011 floods the perception among property buyers was these areas would be looked at negatively and prices would fall, or at least deliver very poor capital growth” Peleg said.

“But our research has shown the reality is completely different and the demand for them has eclipsed the negative perception.

“This is because these high-flood areas are truly well located on the river which is in high demand.

“Also, statistically floods like those in 2011 are a once-in-a-50-year event and that makes these homes a risk people are willing to accept.”

Peleg said many of these areas are subject to rezoning which makes them attractive to developers.

He said when considering buying property in a flood area purchasers should do a risk assessment of the suburb, the type of property they want to buy as well as what the risk for the specific property was.

“Also, that's why we have insurance companies. And while they have revised their product offerings and premiums, which no doubt will be quite high, it is still possible to get insurance.”