December 2021: the boom prints its peak — and Brisbane takes the baton

Sydney +25.3% YoY, Brisbane +27.4% YoY but accelerating month-on-month while Sydney decelerated. SE Queensland was now the highest-conviction capital-growth trade for FY22.

With APRA tightening, fixed rates re-pricing, and the RBA telegraphing rate normalisation, 2022 was going to be a different game. The investors who had built portfolios through 2020–2021 went into 2022 with low cost bases and locked rates. New entrants would be playing on much harder ground.