Mixed bag for housing prices

MORE than 30 Far North Queensland suburbs defied the property slowdown during the September quarter, with house values rising over the past three months.

In the Cairns region, 32 suburbs recorded house price growth, led by Yarrabah (+5.08%), Mossman (4.7%), South Mission Beach (+4.13%), Cardwell (+4%) and Port Douglas (+4%).

For units, the top performers were Bungalow, Mooroobool and Trinity Beach.

On the flip side, 18 suburbs saw house price values decline, with Ravenshoe clocking the biggest drop at 3.72 per cent.

Raine & Horne Port Douglas and Mossman principal David Cotton said the market was still “flat out” in the north.

“Everybody is buying, from locals to lots of interstate buyers from places like Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Tasmania,” he said.

“They are buying holiday lets, but there is also lots of owner occupiers who are working from here but have that better lifestyle.

“We are running out of stock across all price points.”

Statewide, more than 300 regional Queensland suburbs recorded house price growth in the September quarter as the market contends with rising interest rates.

Leading the charge were houses in Ravenswood, a goldmining town with a population of just 297 during the 2021 ABS Census.

Located near Charters Towers, the median house price in Ravenswood rose 15.83 per cent during the September quarter, up from $201,082 to $232,914, according to the latest PropTrack Quarterly Home Price Index.

Explore Property Townsville agent and auctioneer Mal Charlwood, who sold a fourbedroom house on a 1212sq m block in Ravenswood for $199,000, said affordable acreage property was popular.

“The goldmine out there is also expanding so people are buying investments and the goldmine has bought some property also,” he said.

“I would have two or three people looking to buy in Ravenswood now, but I have over 100 people looking for acreage from Townsville, west.”

Other top performing house suburbs included Texas, Booral, Charleville, Tieri, Cloncurry, Tara, Sapphire Central, Clermont and Nobby.

By contrast, house prices in 159 regional suburbs saw values decline over that same quarterly period.

But just six house suburbs in regional Queensland saw values fall back by more than 10 per cent, with all but one, Alpha in Outback Queensland, recording positive growth over the year.

Of those, the biggest fall was recorded in Eidsvold in the Wide Bay region, where house values fell 20.9 per cent.

But values remain in the black, with prices up 3.73 per cent over 12 months, according to the data.