The time has come, the Walrus said... Sincere apologies to Lewis Carroll for borrowing his famous line. But those words keep ringing in our ears. Finally, we can say with confidence … Brisbane’s time has come.

Our positive prediction that Brisbane’s quality real estate market is set for considerable gains is not just a case of wishful thinking. We base it on historic market performance, informed analysis and measurable facts. So let’s talk, to quote Carroll’s verse again, of these “many things”.

Firstly, none of us has escaped the constant reminders of huge gains in the hot Sydney and Melbourne markets. Although Brisbane has been steadily ticking up, most people wonder if we will ever match the growth achieved in the southern capital city markets.

Our view, based on more than three decades specialising in Brisbane’s quality real estate market, is yes. Inevitably, we follow the Sydney and Melbourne market rises. But, as is often the case, after a considerable time lag.

Brisbane has been the laggard this time around because it faced different circumstances to those interstate. Our population growth moderated in the wake of the resources slowdown. The roll back of construction in the mining sector caused an exodus of executives from our upper end market. It meant our economy was weaker than those to the south, and uncertainty was heightened by the disruption of an election followed by a change of government.

But that is a distant memory, and we are now focused on a new, more sustainable construction boom – one based on infrastructure and a services-led future.

Brisbane is in the midst of a wave of infrastructure investment that commentators describe as providing extraordinary structural uplift. Our city is at the heart of a massive $134 billion-plus infrastructure spending commitment for SE Qld by 2031, representing the largest infrastructure spending initiative in Australian history. Headline projects include completion of Legacy Way, linked to the $9.3 billion TransApex roads and tunnels network, and Brisbane Airport’s parallel runway expansion. More than 100 construction projects are now underway or planned at Brisbane Airport where $3.8 billion is being invested in infrastructure development. We could name a long list.

But the biggest game-changer of all will be Echo’s massive Queens Wharf integrated resort development, predicted to make up an astounding 3 per cent of Brisbane’s economy once fully operational. It’s a catalyst the likes of which Brisbane has never seen, far bigger than South Bank was. Dixon Family Estate Agents attended a business lunch this week where economists outlined what Queens Wharf will mean – $4.8 billion a year added to the local economy during the five-year construction phase, and $3 billion a year when up and running. This isn’t like a mining construction boom where major job losses are felt at the end of the development phase. The beauty of tourism is that it’s very labour-intensive, so this project will attract people and keep them here, generating economic activity and prosperity. It’s said, for every 10 jobs created in the tourist sector, another four or five will be generated in related industries. So the predicted 8000 jobs Queens Wharf directly creates should ripple out for a net addition of as many as 12,000 jobs.

Supported by the airport’s parallel runway completion in 2020, an estimated 1.4 million tourists will come – and the focus is unashamedly on big-spending international visitors, and the creation of a whole new luxury market.

At the same time, other service industries are coming to the fore, notably education. The boom in foreign students has created Brisbane’s biggest export market, with the education and training sector now with $5.1 billion. And, with those well-to-do students and their families, come more visitors and more new residents.

While Sydney and Melbourne are said to have reached the peak of the market on the property clock, Brisbane is just now at the ‘rising market’ stage. Latest data from the REIQ showed Brisbane’s median house price recently broke through the $610,000 mark. And prestige market activity was the primary driver.

So, if you were one of the ones wondering when it would be Brisbane’s turn for significant property growth, wonder no more. The upward trend, plus the awakening realisation of just how significant a project like Queens Wharf will be for our city, can only mean one thing … the time has come.

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes – and ships – and sealing wax – Of cabbages and kings…" Through the Looking-Glass Lewis Carroll, 1871