Queensland boasts a huge array of regional locations that draw in house hunters from around the country, from hinterland towns to beachfront living.
Property portal realestate.com.au has analysed which regional Queensland locations are the best performers across three key metrics โ rental yield, capital growth and rental demand.
REA economist Paul Ryan said regional Queensland had benefited from the exodus away from the major capital cities, which was clearly reflected in both sales prices and rental yields.
โHow long this exodus to the regions continues is hard to say, but the regions often offer more affordable properties and better rental yields,โ Mr Ryan told the Townsville Bulletin.
โPeople considering investing should consider the long term prospects of a region, the services and amenities on offer, employment opportunities, public and private investment and so on. Many of the regions have the key ingredients for growth.โ
Regional Queensland’s top suburbs
Despite Cairns not seeing immediate success amid the real estate boom, REA has identified eight key suburbs for investors, including Port Douglas, Gordonvale and Mount Sheridan.
Of those regional Queensland suburbs, Gordonvale recorded the strongest capital growth over the past decade, a solid 34.2 per cent, while Port Douglas offered the best rental yield (6.4 per cent) and the highest growth in rental demand (46.7 per cent).
Mr Ryan said while Cairns had not yet seen the sharp rise in values that some other regions had experienced, it was still recording low vacancy rates and strong yields.
โThat rental growth will likely turn into price growth,โ he said.
Whitfield and Palm Cove were identified as the region’s most expensive suburbs, while further south in the Whitsundays, Cannonvale was on the up.
The Gold Coast has seven suburbs with good prospects for unit investors, with the biggest increase in affordable suburbs like Carrara (26.2 per cent) and the best yield in Nerang (6.6 per cent).
Mudgeeraba boasted the highest 10 year capital growth (49.5 per cent) and investor cashflow ($646.42).
REA also identified Biggera Waters, Coombabah and Surfers Paradise as hot markets for unit investors.
Meanwhile, Gympie and Toowoomba each show two key suburbs for house investments.
Mr Ryan said the Sunshine Coast had only one suburb on the list, the hinterland town of Nambour.
โThe price growth there has likely depressed current yields, and pushed those spots out of the top spots,โ Mr Ryan said.
While Townsville did not make the top 30 across all the three metrics, Mr Ryan said the region had many suburbs with high rental yields, with local agents reporting a rush of interstate buyers snapping up investment properties.
Mr Ryan said Townsville โhas a diverse economy and lots of factors in its favourโ.
Seller confidence grows throughout regional Queensland
REA Group economic research executive manager Cameron Kusher said sellers were also becoming more confident, with no shortage of evidence showing the strength of the market.
โIf they are realistic about price, they will sell,โ Mr Kusher said.
โThere is no shortage of buyers in the market, and not enough supply to meet that demand.โ
Recent CoreLogic data shows that the number of days on market across regional Queensland has almost halved, from 60 days to 35 days.
Up north, REA noted a basic weekender near Townsville that was listed for the first time in over three decades recently attracted a whopping 17 registered bidders at auction, and achieved $288,000 under the hammer. It last sold in 1988 for $92,000.
REA also identified Townsville’s North Ward, Noosa’s Sunshine Beach, and Brisbane’s Teneriffe as some of the most highly priced suburbs. On the Gold Coast, Main Beach, Mermaid Beach, Palm Beach and Southport were all noted as leading suburbs.