Forest Lake property market Archives

Forest Lake Property Market Delivers 20% Price Growth

The property market in Forest Lake has outperformed itself, with a 20% growth that has taken the median house price above the half-million-dollar mark for the period October 2020 to September 2021.

Highlights

Forest Lake continues its upward trend with the property market rising to 20.05 per cent for October 2020 to September 2021.
Despite being short on supply since Forest Lake has mostly detached dwelling options, the suburb’s unit market has risen to 6.73 per cent.
This suburb’s median house price is now at $515,000 and the median unit price is at $293,500.

House Price Growth

Figures from Property Market Updates reflect a high demand for Forest Lake properties, as it experiences a 20.05 per cent growth from last year, with the median house price now sitting at $515,000.

From October 2020 to September 2021, 459 properties were sold for an average of 29 days on market, proving that the property boom in this southern suburb has continued post-pandemic.

Whilst the boom is good news for sellers and investors, industry experts believe that the rising trend will be sustained well into the next year. Thus, buyers are no longer sitting on the sidelines to wait for the cooling period.

Most buyers looking at Forest Lake go for four-bedroom properties, although three-bedroom homes are also selling fast.

About 92 per cent of dwelling options in this suburb are detached houses with nearly half on the mortgage, which has been one of the main drivers of the rumbling market with the current low-interest rates.

Unit Price Growth

While first-home buyers are struggling to compete in other markets with million-dollar price ranges, they could easily get on the property market with much less budget. The median unit price in Forest Lake is currently at $293,500 for the period October 2020 to September 2021.

During this 12-month period, 20 units had new owners following 52 days on market. Most of these have been three-bedroom homes, an ideal size for a growing family. The growth has been notable since unit stocks are low on supply in Forest Lake and apartment values in Brisbane generally do not enjoy the same rise in values as detached houses.

About Forest Lake

Established in the early 1990s, Forest Lake was developed and master-planned with families in mind and that has remained the same in the last 30 years. To the centre of the suburb is the parkland and lake from which Forest Lake was named.

Covering 10-hectares of natural space, the Forest Lake parkland offers residents plenty of things to do. With its careful layout as a leafy and relaxed community, this beautiful suburb has plenty of bike and walking tracks, playgrounds, and sports fields for adults and kids to enjoy.

The suburb also offers comprehensive school options for both primary and secondary education. Public transport access for trips to the city and neighbouring suburbs is fairly regular and residents could easily get everything they need at the Forest Lake Shopping Village.

“We have lived in Forest Lake for 5 years now and we adore it! We were inner city Dinks when we moved here almost 6 years ago, and had only lived in West End Wooloongabba and East Brisbane. Needless to say it was a change of pace! The first few nights we were shocked at how early everyone seemed to go to bed! We joked it was “lights out at 9:30 in Forest Lake!”. It’s very safe, very quiet, leafy, clean and so very very pretty!”
Vanessa Soma

“Forest Lake is a great place for kids with all the parks and families of all ages in the area. The neighbors on my street are all well educated, friendly professional types, and maintain their properties immaculately unlike other suburbs in Brisbane. Lots of community events like BBQs and kids parties as well which is fun for the family. Many of my family members are cops and they say the southwest of Brisbane has dramatically improved over the last year as patrols have increased and more first time home buyers are moving in.”
Jana 15

“I purchased in this suburb in late 2019. I was a bit worried at first, being 30 minutes with no traffic from the CBD and not in one of the so called “blue chip suburbs” that are shilled so much by “property experts”. The truth is, this suburb is great for young families that want to own their own property and have great outdoor recreation activities around and plenty of schools to choose from.”
Brendon

Forest Lake Property Market Poised to Enter the Half-Million-Dollar Suburbs List

Brisbane’s housing market has shown steady growth amidst the pandemic lockdowns with areas in the southwest consistently showing resilience. The median house price of properties in Forest Lake, for example, has exhibited a 13.05-percent growth in the 12-month period ending June 2021, making it a likely candidate to be one of Brisbane’s $500-k suburbs soon, if the trend continues.

During this 12-month period, the median house price for Forest Lake is $485,000, up from $429,000 from July 2019 to June 2020, per Property Market Updates. House listings in this suburb stayed on the market for an average of 43 days.

Some 456 houses were sold in Forest Lake during this period, amidst reports that over 30,000 interstate residents moved to the Sunshine State overall in 2020. The race for space has families and investors making a shift to homes with tree-lined streets, seascapes, or coastal and lake views as the trend towards remote working could remain the norm for many companies years after the pandemic.

Unit Growth

Forest Lake’s median unit price took a three-percent dive from July 2020 to June 2021 with only 20 properties sold.

Since the suburb’s master plan from the 1990s has mainly consisted of a series of villages with spread-out houses, apartment living has mostly focused on retirement villages or unit residential dwellings for downsizers and retirees who prefer to live in a quiet neighbourhood without any traffic

Photo Credit: Sivaswamy sithampalam/Google Maps

About Forest Lake

According to the 2016 census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Forest Lake has a total population of 22,896 with 2.9 people per household, primarily professionally employed couples with children. Residents are predominantly in the 40-49 years age group.

Homebuyers have been flocking to Forest Lake because of its abundance of large homes with backyards, good schools with sporting facilities such as St John’s Anglican College, a 10.9-hectare man-made lake with heaps of recreational spaces for biking, walking, and playing.

Forest Lake Housing Market Moving Closer to $500,000 Median Price

Did you know that Forest Lake is moving closer to the $500K mark after its latest median home prices came in at $455K?

Forest Lake’s housing market joins Durack, Ellen Grove and Fitzgibbon as the suburbs nearing the half a million club. Inala, Wacol and Richlands are still trailing behind with an average house price between $355,000 to $410,000.

In Forest Lake, it’s also cheaper to buy a house than to rent because of low interest rates and a first-home buyer’s grant. Some buyers could end up luckier than most because there are houses less than $500,00 that will not need heavy refurbishments or renovations.

However, some industry experts warn of the downsides amidst the property boom, record sales, and packed auctions and open houses as new investors, young and first-home buyers only have these suburbs as options based on the house price listing they could afford.

A robust Brisbane housing market, which has been projected to have a five to eight percent increase every quarter in 2021, could leave out just Inara and Wacol for new buyers considering to invest in Brisbane by the end of the year.

But life in Forest Lake may still be a worthy investment for young families despite a looming median price increase as it’s a quiet, green and clean town with many public parks. There are also fewer broken down or dilapidated houses compared to other suburbs nearby. First-time buyers could acquire a house with a spacious backyard compared to living in a shoebox in suburbs closer to the CBD, according to a longtime resident.