The research discovered that the high end of the Brisbane market, above $800,000, was growing at a faster pace than the rest of the market. This was reflected nationally, as well.

CoreLogic said that over the coming year, the lower end of the market and the mid-market were likely to follow the trend of the more expensive sector “though growth rates are not expected to be as strong”.

In Brisbane, high-end property prices were found to have grown almost 4 per cent in the three months to February. Similar levels of increase were seen in Sydney and Melbourne. The mid-range ($535,000) market in Brisbane grew at slightly more than 3 per cent while the low range ($344,00) was right on 3 per cent.

While the differences appear small for the three-month period, if they continued at the same pace over the year the gap between sectors would be significant.

The results followed a surge in the market in February when prices nationally jumped 2.1 per cent, the largest month-on-month change since 2003. Brisbane’s rise in the month was 1.5 per cent. Over the past 12 months, prices in Brisbane have increased 5 per cent, but that included a significant downturn during the initial period of lockdowns.

But while the high-end sector has grown faster nationally, CoreLogic said it also fell by more than 4 per cent during the worst of the COVID restrictions in 2020, compared with only 1.6 per cent for the mid-range market.

“High-end property markets may seem excessively risky during downturn periods because they tend to lose the most value in a negative economic shock. However, what is being observed at the moment across the market is that periods of upswing deliver high returns across the more expensive segment of the property market.”

CoreLogic has also forecast that first home buyers were likely to withdraw from the market as government incentives taper off and affordability becomes an issue.