Queensland emerging as a ‘standout economic performer’, report says
Queensland’s population growth and an expected swell of investment before the 2032 Brisbane Games has been a boon for the state’s commercial property sector, according to industry giant JLL.
A new report, Unlocking Queensland’s Potential, found Queensland was “emerging as a standout economic performer” following the continued rise in interstate migration and infrastructure spend.
“Brisbane’s commercial property sector is offering a rare combination of stability, scale and growth,” the US real estate services company said in a statement.
Vacancy rates in Brisbane’s CBD office market were the least volatile in the country during the past decade, according to the JLL report.
It said this was driven by a 12 per cent growth in white-collar jobs, dominated by new positions in healthcare, education and finance.
Brisbane also had the lowest price correction of any major city for commercial property between 2022 and 2024.
“Queensland’s economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience since 2021,” JLL economist Ronak Bhimjiani said.
“The state’s strategic diversification across sustainability, technology, advanced manufacturing and healthcare is expected to sustain growth over the medium to long term, thereby creating opportunities for the real estate sector.
“Our analysis suggests the outlook remains positive.”
The $29.2 billion in infrastructure spending planned over the next four years was significantly higher than NSW and Victoria as a percentage of gross state product, and this was boosting the Queensland industrial and logistics sectors.
In retail, shopping centre turnover grew by 22.9 per cent – more than in any year since 2019. JLL found new builds in the sector were meeting less than half of total projected demand.
This masthead reported last month that Brisbane had become the most expensive place to build in Australia, risking further surges in house prices and blowouts or delays to major projects.
It now costs $5009 a square metre – or about 3 per cent more than second-placed Sydney – on average to build in the city, the 2025 Global Construction Market Intelligence report from consultants Turner and Townsend showed.
Tiffany Emmett, an associate director of Turner and Townsend, said at the time, “we are pretty concerned about capacity constraints in the Queensland market over the coming years”.
“We’re expecting that they’re going to need to draw on interstate resources and skills to help deliver the pipeline.
“If they don’t, then obviously there’s the risk of budget over-runs, projects being delayed, and potentially some projects not even going ahead because they just can’t get the … workers, or there just isn’t the capacity in the market to deliver them.”
Construction costs in Brisbane rose by 4.4 per cent last year, and were expected to increase a further 5.5 per cent in 2025 – more than anywhere else in the country.
