House prices in Sunnybank soar as Brisbane families try to move around the watershed of four popular schools

Brisbane’s southern suburb of Sunnybank is surrounded by four primary schools which are described as “in high demand” and “oversubscribed”.

Macgregor, Sunnybank Hills, Robertson and Warrigal Road public schools have become major selling points for real estate agents in the area.

Antonia Mercorella of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) said it was common for in-demand schools to drive up house prices in some suburbs.

“Sunnybank Hills or West End is a prime example where there are popular public schools in these areas and buyers are willing to pay a premium,” Ms. Mercorella said.

“Of course, if you have enough buyers like this, it can drive that median price up dramatically.

“When we see buyers who have children, if you can secure a property in an area that has access to a great public school, it can literally save you tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars that would be. otherwise potentially must be spent on private tuition.

Sunnybank properties are selling fast and inventory levels have not kept up with demand, according to real estate agent Adam Scott.

“We have had a clear lack of stock to supply all the buyers who were trying to enter these watersheds – this demand from sellers has increased slightly, but it is still more than offset by the number of buyers who are just trying to put their money down. kids on the right path to school, ”Scott said.

“Due to rising prices, we can’t get anything nearby”

Wei Chia, a resident of Sunnybank, has been renting in the suburbs for four years.

When she and her husband Matt Wheare looked to buy a home, they realized they couldn’t afford to set up shop in this area or the surrounding suburbs.

“We tried Sunnybank Hills, Robertson, Macgregor, we go even further down to Algester and Acacia Ridge and no we realized that due to the price hike we couldn’t get anything close by so we had had to look further, ”Ms. Chia said.

Her daughter Kira attends Macgregor State School, which is a three-minute drive from their current home.

They ended up buying a house in the Logan suburb of Woodridge, so as of this year, the trip back to school will be about 25 minutes each way.

“I have already warned her that we will most likely have breakfast in the car,” Ms. Chia said.

Real estate agent Jacky Niu said the Sunnybank boom has pushed growth to the neighboring suburbs of Pallara and Rochedale.

“The lots of houses and land in Rochedale sell for up to $ 1.6 million,” Niu said.

That’s almost $ 500,000 more than the prices he sold them for last year.

“Now it’s more of a sellers’ market”

For sellers in these catchment areas, the news is much better.

Delwyn Farmilo wanted to sell her house in the area served by Mansfield State High School three years ago, but was not attracting the money she wanted for it.

“2017 was more of a buyer’s market, whereas today it is more of a sellers market,” Ms. Farmilo said.

She is happy to have kept her property for a few years.

“We’ve already had people, we’ve had an offer, so it’s already done, it’s okay,” she said.