So we will have to see how it goes. Although it seems to be mostly the expensive suburbs around brisbane that have flooded (ie near the river)
There are stacks of houses in "less than expensive" areas that are under or partially under.
I was 14 in the '74 floods and remember them well, but more from seeing the coverage over the years than actual memories. I do remember going with my older brother and parents to his boss's house to help sweep mud out of his house. He lived near the river and was wealthy, but everybody probably feels the same when they see their whole lives spread over the lawn, rich or poor.
I don't know whether it is because I remember the floods, or whether it was such a "fresh" topic for years after, but checking flood levels is something that many people have done for as long as I can remember. Even if the buyers are too young to remember the '74 flood, their parents probably remember them. Checking if a house was affected by the '74 flood is just one of the checks I thought "most people" did.
Another thing I always wonder is whether property REALLY was "generally" cheaper right on the river after the floods. Many of those houses fronting or backing onto the river are "expensive" houses and have "always" been so. Perhaps those people who wanted to just "sell at any price" after the '74 flood may have taken a lesser price than they could have asked before the flood, but in my experience, those people who live "on the river" are usually fairly financially savvy.
I also imagine that if you can afford to buy "on the river" you can probably also afford either flood insurance, or afford to replaster and refit. I know that is a generalisation, but I cannot think of any "river" houses that I could afford, and wonder if I EVER could have afforded one. I don't think so.
I would love to know if anybody else has similar perceptions to me about this as I have never believed that houses "on the river" were EVER cheap. Even now, I cannot imagine someone "giving away" their house because of this flood.
As a comparison, I have also heard the stories (or are they urban myths) about houses on the Sydney Harbour almost being given away after the war when the submarines were in the harbour.