Queensland minister warns lower prices could slow Brisbane apartment building

Queensland housing minister Sam O'Connor warned on October 12 that falling property prices could discourage investment in new Brisbane apartments, while reaffirming the state's target of one million homes by 2044.

Speaking at a construction site in Newmarket, O'Connor said high-rise projects were already expensive to build. He identified declining prices as a potential factor in a difficult environment for delivering higher-density housing.

The minister also criticised uncertainty associated with federal tax changes announced in the May budget. His comments described a risk to future construction and did not establish how many projects had been cancelled or delayed.

QUT property economist Andrea Blake offered a different emphasis. She said interest rates were a major driver of the price downturn and argued that tax changes could improve access for younger people and first-home buyers over the longer term.

Blake also pointed to shortages of skilled tradespeople and labour as constraints on new supply. She said limited housing stock was likely to continue supporting Brisbane property values in the near term.

Queensland's one-million-home target predates the minister's latest comments. The state government set out the goal in earlier housing and budget statements.