South East Queensland apartments are now beating houses on rent price growth in 69 suburbs, and experts say the Brisbane 2032 Olympics will only accelerate the divide. The latest Rise and Rise of Apartments report from Nuestar and Hotspotting showed rental growth for apartments is now outpacing growth for houses around the country.

It revealed 53 South East Queensland unit markets also recorded double-digit median asking rent growth over the past 12 months, dominating the national growth. “Apartments are not just an affordability play,” Nuestar founder Michael Wilkins said. “In the right locations, they are a way to secure exposure to high-quality, high-demand markets earlier and at a lower entry point than houses.”

Among the Brisbane suburbs where units recorded bigger rental price jumps compared to houses in the past 12 months were Aspley, Greenslopes, Newmarket, Murarrie, St Lucia, Runcorn and Wooloowin. Slacks Creek, Kippa-Ring, Lawnton, Waterford, Woodridge and Woody Point also recorded bigger percentage jumps for their unit rental markets.

Hotspotting founder Terry Ryder described Brisbane as the “star apartment market” among the capital cities. “It’s probably going to increase as well because of that Olympic factor,” Mr Ryder said. “We are going to see people invest in apartments in those inner-city areas of Brisbane because of the Olympics. “The research shows host cities have an impact on their property market and it’s usually in the lead-up rather than after.”

He said rising rents and more affordable buy-in prices than the house market meant stronger returns for investors in the apartment market. The report revealed the median house price in Brisbane is $1.227m, while the median unit price is $854,000 — $373,000 (36 per cent) less.

Mr Ryder said with federal budget changes to allow future negative gearing only for new builds, apartment assets would be more in demand. “As a result of the budget changes, yields will become a higher priority for many investors and as this report shows, the higher yields are to be found in the apartment market,” Mr Ryder said.

“There are a lot more apartment projects under way and their price point is lower than stand-alone properties, so they appeal to investors, who are generally looking to buy at a lower price point.” Surfers Paradise recorded the most apartment sales in Queensland with 1356 compared to 204 house sales. Brisbane City recorded 767 apartment sales compared to just eight house sales.