Regions driving up property growth
Which suburbs are top performers
FROM affordable coastal hamlets to acreage suburbs and regional city locales, more than two thirds of Queensland’s top spots for growth in the March quarter were outside of Greater Brisbane.
And that number explodes when 12-month price growth is factored in, with over 400 suburbs across regional Queensland recording house price growth between 10 per cent (Mareeba, Kirwan, Sarina) and 45.4 per cent (Ninderry).
But new data from property researcher Corelogic shows the sheer extent of the home price explosion across Queensland during the twoyear boom, with top performers located in every region. Wide Bay was the strongest region, with 18 suburbs recording double-digit growth north of 50 per cent in the 24 months to March this year, led by The Palms (+73.2 per cent), Kandanga (+71.3 per cent) and Gympie (+68.2 per cent).
Corelogic’s head of research Eliza Owen said that unlike the softening conditions across Sydney and Melbourne, major cities in Queensland continued to show growth of about 2 per cent in March.
“Across the 1147 house and unit markets analysed (in Queensland), only 19 saw a decline in value through the quarter,” she said.
Up north, Herberton was the top performer in the Cairns region during the March quarter, with median house values up 8.7 per cent, followed closely by Peeramon (+8.6 per cent) and Malanda (+8.3 per cent).
Every Cairns suburb saw median house values increase in the March quarter, with only one unit market, Edge Hill, declining by just 0.3 per cent.
Over the two-year pandemic property boom, unit markets in Holloways Beach (+43.4 per cent) and Smithfield (+41.4 per cent) led the charge, followed by houses in Cardwell (+37 per cent).
Further south, Forrest
Beach saw the biggest median house price in the Townsville region during the March quarter, up 8.1 per cent to an incredibly affordable $246,408.
It was followed by Shaw, up 7.3 per cent.
Rosslea units recorded the biggest rise in median prices during the two-year property boom – up 47.8 per cent to just shy of $200,000, followed by houses in Home Hill (+36.5 per cent), Forrest Beach and Belgian Gardens (+30.8 per cent).
Median house values in Townsville’s most expensive suburb, Castle Hill, climbed 3.6 per cent over the quarter, and 18.4 per cent over 24 months, to just over $1m.
Twenty-two suburbs saw median house values rise by more than 10 per cent in the past 12 months, with that number more than doubling over a 24-month period.
Explore Property agent Giovanni Spinella said Townsville prices were still down on the previous peak over a decade ago, but the recovery was under way.
“Prices are starting to normalise, and if things continue as they are, I suspect the next quarter will be even better,” he said.
Even Collinsville, Queensland’s cheapest house market with a median value of $122,121, has clocked some significant price growth – up 0.8 per cent over the quarter, 17.1 per cent over 12 months and 28.7 per cent over 24 months.