Toowoomba prices on the up
Indicator of city’s ‘quiet confidence’
MATTHEW NEWTON
THE Garden City has the bestperforming housing market of all Queensland’s regional cities, with the median sales price of houses across Toowoomba increasing by 18.3% over the past five years.
Real Estate Institute of Queensland zone chair for Toowoomba and the Darling Downs David Snow said there were a number of reasons for Toowoomba’s steady growth since 2013.
“I think there’s a quiet confidence about Toowoomba when people are investing whether they want to live in the home or not, Toowoomba on a checklist of what’s considered desirable on modern terms, is faring very well, whatever way you look at it,” he said.
Any analysis of median sales prices since 2013 shows Mount Lofty and Blue Mountain Heights leading the pack, with an increase of 38.1% and 36.4% over the past five years, respectively.
But the average buyer probably wouldn’t be seeing an almost 40% return on their investment after five years, Mr Snow cautioned.
He puts the bulk of the increase in those suburbs down to an increase in the number of sales of more expensive homes, potentially adding to the huge increase in value.
“So more expensive homes are being sold in Mount Lofty, Blue Mountains ... it’s not necessarily a case of these suburbs increasing in value to that per cent,” he said.
But, if you look at the bigger picture - the geographical spread of Toowoomba’s suburbs and their comparative median sales prices to five years ago, there’s no denying the market is on the rise.
According to the March REIQ Queensland Market Report, a number of suburbs were selling much faster than the average of 65 days on the market.
Toowoomba City was the fastest selling suburb, averaging 25 days on the market.
Centenary Heights was next with 30 days, followed by Meringandan West on 34, Rangeville on 36 and East Toowoomba on 38.
There were a number of reasons Toowoomba was performing so well, Mr Snow said.
The city was less affected by the fluctuations of the mining boom.
While other towns, like Miles and Chinchilla, or cities like Mackay copped the brunt of the boom-bust cycle, Toowoomba escaped unscathed, owing to its diverse economic base.
“We’ve got a good population base, good retail base, extraordinary educational choices, a university, good day-care facilities, excellent health choices, trained professionals; the list goes on,” Mr Snow said.
“When I came to Toowoomba 34 years ago there were four physicians in Toowoomba ... There are now 40 in Toowoomba Hospital.”
Matthew.Newton@thechronicle.com.au
Photo: Contributed
With the Brisbane median house price about $150200,000 above that of Toowoomba’s, Mr Snow also said Toowoomba offered a much better lifestyle than the coastal city, in terms of time travelled to work.