Residents in Brisbane’s affluent suburbs are on track to inherit large amounts of intergenerational wealth over the next few years.
Residents in Brisbane’s wealthiest suburbs are on track to inherit up to $1m each in property riches this year, as part of the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history — leaving behind an underclass of Australians locked out of the market.
At the epicentre of this generational shift are established inner and middle-ring suburbs including Ascot, Robertson and Brookfield, where long-held homes have surged in value and adult children stand to receive windfalls well above $500,000 each.
A property in Grays Rd, Hamilton. Hamilton is one of the suburbs where a large amount of property wealth is set to change hands.
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New modelling from real estate platform Foundit, which analysed current house and unit prices alongside Census data on mortgage-free homes owned by Australians aged over 80, reveals a snapshot of how much property wealth could change hands in 2026 alone.
“The largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history is no longer theoretical,” Foundit head of research Kent Lardner said. “In Greater Brisbane, it is now measurable — and it is accelerating.”
The modelling assumes 5 per cent of the over-80s population will pass on property assets this year, and averages house and unit values, weighted by actual ownership patterns in each suburb, to calculate a typical property underpinning an inheritance.
This property at 81 Towers St, Ascot, recently sold for more than $5m. Ascot is one of the suburbs where a large amount of intergenerational wealth is set to change hands.
FoundIt head of research Kent Lardner.
It also assumes two adult children share that asset.
“The result is a clear map of where six and seven-figure inheritances are most likely to emerge,” Mr Lardner said.
“Across Greater Brisbane, decades of price appreciation and high outright ownership among older residents are now converting into liquidity for the next generation.
“In suburbs such as Ascot, seven-figure inheritances per child are becoming plausible outcomes. Across much of the inner and middle ring, transfers comfortably exceed half a million dollars per beneficiary.”
Mr Lardner said the modelling revealed where Brisbane’s next wave of deposit capacity and financial uplift was likely to emerge.
Other suburbs set for a wealth boom this year include Hamilton, Bardon, Bulimba, and Ashgrove.
This property at 45 Harrison St, Bulimba, is on the market for offers over $2.85m. Bulimba is one of the suburbs where households are set to inherit a large amount of intergenerational wealth.
It comes as new analysis by Eda Property has found $468 billion will be transferred to Queenslanders in the form of inherited wealth over the next 14 years.
Queensland’s share represents 18 per cent of Australia’s national inheritance, the third-largest transfer in the country behind NSW’s 32 per cent and Victoria’s 27 per cent.
Eda Property founder and strategist Anissa Cavallo said the wealthy suburbs inheriting much of these riches would increase the divide between the middle and upper classes.
“A lot of people in the middle class now may never own a home, whereas that was originally the Australian dream,” she said. “I don’t see this inheritance being dispersed. It’ll stay in that high price bracket, but I do think it will move out of the suburb.”
The Eda Property analysis found residents of Fig Tree Pocket are set to be the biggest winners when it comes to inherited wealth, with just 134 households expected to receive $324m within the next five years.
This property at 15 Cromwell Cl, Brookfield, recently sold for $1.735m. Adult children in Brookfield are set to inherit large amounts of intergenerational wealth.
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Hamilton beneficiaries could receive $732m in inheritance, while the Brookfield – Kenmore Hills area, the Rochedale – Burbank area and Hawthorne will each see an average per household transfer of more than $2m.
The analysis found family homes in elite suburbs like Fig Tree Pocket and Hamilton usually turn over when estates settle, but the cashed-up beneficiaries then outprice lower wage earners trying to buy in more affordable markets.
Ms Cavallo said beneficiaries often did not just buy one home — they invested in at least one other property and then upgraded their principal place of interest.
“This accelerates wealth building for inheritors versus non-inheritors, widening the gap over time,” she said.
“Inheritance buyers can make unconditional offers, outbid at auction, and weather rate rises. Wage-only buyers are increasingly priced out across all price points.”
This property at 97 Lindsay St, Hawthorne, is currently for sale.
Eda Property collated the research by cross-referencing data from analytics firm Seer and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Ms Cavallo said the transfer of wealth in the coming years would have more of an impact on home prices than government incentives or any other measure.
“It’s not going to be interest rates, they might not go beneath 2 per cent again,” she said. “It’s not going to be affordability – everywhere is unaffordable. It’s not going to be government policies … [sometimes] they don’t make a dent.”
Ray White veteran Gold Coast agent Andrew Bell said the intergenerational transfer of wealth was already evident given the increase in buyers actively transacting in the upper end of the market — a space once dominated by lifetime earners and self-made entrepreneurs.
“With the cost of living rising and home ownership becoming increasingly difficult for younger generations, we’re seeing more parents stepping in to help,” Mr Bell said.
“Many have downsized, unlocking significant capital by selling the family home and opting for apartments or smaller properties. They’re using this liquidity to gift or lend money, often interest-free, to their children to help them secure their place in the market, and in many cases, the home of their dreams.”
Mr Bell said that at the same time, baby boomers who had built substantial wealth were reaching later life stages and large inheritances were being passed down.
“And this is just the beginning,” he said. “As more wealth continues to transfer between generations, this trend will only accelerate.”
This property at 20 Robertson Pl, Fig Tree Pocket, recently sold for $2.4m. Households in Fig Tree Pocket are set to inherit large amounts of intergenerational wealth.
Millennial Wealth director Rob Creaton said a large number of his clients were gifting their children large amounts of money as early inheritance in their 20s — usually $50,000 to $100,000 — or agreeing to use their properties as security for their children to be able to get a mortgage.
“In the last two to three years, it’s been one of the biggest topics of conversation,” Mr Creaton said.
“I even have a lot of clients with kids who are only three, four, five or six already thinking about putting money away for them so when they’re 20, 25, they can afford to buy.
“They’re really worried their kids will never be able to buy property.”
Australian Property Scout founder Sam Gordon said he was also seeing some clients drawing down equity from their homes to gift their children money to get into the housing market.
”We are seeing some parents in their 50s and 60s getting their inheritance and gifting a small portion of that to their kids,” Mr Gordon said.
“We’re also seeing a small percentage of parents and grandparents saying; ‘I’m going to help them get their first house now’ and gifting $100,000 or $150,000.”
But he said it was difficult to break into many of the wealthier suburbs because properties were often passed down through generations.
This property at 4 Walnut St, Rochedale, is for sale. Rochedale has been identified as a suburb where a large amount of intergeneration wealth is set to be transferred.
Research from analysis firm Deloitte found Australians are set to inherit $5.4 trillion by 2050; but found the majority could struggle with how best to spend this money.
An estimated 59 per cent of Australians were found to have low levels of financial capability: an understanding of financial terms and one’s ability to use them when making decisions with their money.
“I would say 59 per cent is actually quite conservative,” Ms Cavallo said, when referring to property investments. “I often explain to my clients the first time that I see them the difference between capital growth and yield … absolutely more than 60 per cent of the people I speak to don’t know what that means.”
Deloitte models claim the average household wealth could be increased by $122,950 if every Australian had an advanced level of financial capability.
Eda Property founder Anissa Cavallo.
Ms Cavallo said understanding financial capability could allow people seeking to enter the property market to act more in their interests, rather than the interests of the vendors and agents they need to network with.
“Unfortunately for many Australians, middle-class hardworking Australians, property is one of the only areas to help them achieve financial independence,” she said.
Finder personal finance expert Sarah Megginson said family wealth was becoming a crucial financial lifeline for Australians grappling with the cost of living.
“Millions are quietly depending on family support to achieve their financial goals, whether it’s purchasing a home, sending their kids to private school or settling debts,” she said.
“With sky-high living costs and loads of wealth being held by older generations in property and super, it’s understandable that some Australians are banking on an inheritance, but don’t put all your eggs in that basket.
“Many people are surprised after a loved one passes away to discover their financial situation is not what they expected, or that assets have been left to other people.”
– Additional reporting by Nicholas Finch.
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