The 2011 flood devastated many of Brisbane’s lower lying suburbs and had serious repercussions for the city’s property market. Many buyers did not want to dip their toe (pardon the pun) into the market and purchase a property anywhere near the river.
While the flooding of 2011 did affect the property market, it has definitely bounced back. After another year of heavy rain failed to result in any flooding (due to better flood mitigation procedures at the Wivenhoe Dam), buyers are more willing to purchase in the suburbs that were previously affected.
The Brisbane City Council offers a simple tool that aims to allay a buyer’s fear about buying a property (due to the fear of it flooding). To help restore buyer confidence the Brisbane City Council offers a free FloodWise Property Report, which is available as a tool on their website.
The report contains information of the flood height of 2011and various flood events that may occur and the likelihood of it. It also shows the ground levels of the property and the required minimum habitable floor height. This brief report can provide valuable information to assist you in making a more informed decision of the flooding risks.
Visit flood.brisbane.qld.gov.au/floodwise_property_report to download a report on the property you may be interested in purchasing. It only takes a few minutes and the report is instantly available for download.
Whilst this report may give you an indication of how the property may be affected by flooding, further searches will provide more information about the property. If you are concerned about flooding of the property, we recommend that you discuss this with your lawyer.
Call us at Icon Legal on (07) 3399 6006 if you would like advice about purchasing a property.