Queensland’s property boom has minted millions in homeowner wealth, with house prices doubling in almost 1000 suburbs over the past decade.
New analysis of PropTrack data reveals home values doubled in 956 suburbs between 2016 and 2026, while just seven suburbs recorded lower prices than a decade ago.
While the days of extraordinary price rises may be behind us, the figures expose the staggering scale of Queensland’s growth, which has transformed once-affordable towns into million-dollar markets and delivered windfall gains to long-term owners sitting on equity.
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This property at 37 Golden Valley Rd, Tallebudgera Valley, recently sold for $3.85m.
Tallebudgera Valley topped the state for long-term growth, recording house price gains of 271 per cent over the past decade to sit at a median of $2.8m — a quadrupling of value. In comparison, it recorded just 16 per cent growth during the entire decade from 2006 to 2016.
Magnetic Island’s Nelly Bay experienced a similar turnaround, with unit prices jumping 260 per cent after falling 18 per cent in the decade prior.
House prices in the little known Ipswich suburb of Churchill have climbed 250 per cent in 10 years, as have units in Edens Landing (+250 per cent), followed by houses in Broadbeach (+249 per cent).
A two-bedroom unit in this complex at 146 Sooning St, Nelly Bay, recently sold for $435,000.
| TOP 10 QLD SUBURBS WHERE HOME PRICES HAVE EXPLODED IN 10 YEARS | ||||
| Suburb | Type | Median | 10-year | |
| price | growth | |||
| 1. Tallebudgera Valley | House | $2,800,000 | 271% | |
| 2. Nelly Bay | Unit | $450,000 | 260% | |
| 3. Churchill | House | $792,000 | 250% | |
| 4. Edens Landing | Units | $792,000 | 250% | |
| 5. Broadbeach | House | $1,370,000 | 249% | |
| 6. Noosa Heads | Unit | $2,150,000 | 239% | |
| 7. Murgon | House | $410,000 | 228% | |
| 8. Leichhardt | House | $735,000 | 227% | |
| 9. Lawnton | Unit | $735,000 | 227% | |
| 10. Dinmore | House | $740,000 | 226% | |
| Source: PropTrack | ||||
Brisbane house prices overall increased a whopping 152 per cent over the decade, making it the strongest-performing capital city market in the country, while unit prices climbed 126 per cent in that time.
REA Group senior economic analyst Megan Lieu said many of the state’s biggest wealth creators were not obvious bets a decade ago.
“Median home prices are constantly evolving, and the best-buy suburbs a decade ago were not delivering high returns at the time,” Ms Lieu said.
“Where buyer demand shifts is impacted by a number of factors, making it difficult to predict. However, history shows that new pockets can emerge over time with the potential to deliver strong, long-term price growth.”
This house at 16 Brisbane St, Churchill, recently sold for $1.1m.
While the vast majority of homeowners enjoyed extraordinary gains, a handful of suburbs bucked the trend.
Inner-city South Brisbane was the state’s worst-performing market over the decade, with house prices falling 5.4 per cent, while six regional Queensland locations also recorded declines.
Ms Lieu said that while property values had historically doubled roughly every decade, the latest figures showed outcomes varied dramatically depending on location.
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“Brisbane has seen a lot of strong demand over the past few years and over the Covid period, and there was a lot of interstate migration into Queensland from NSW and Victoria, so that saw prices rise a lot more than other capital cities,” she said.
“If we look at Brisbane houses, Ipswich pretty much makes up the whole list because that region has seen some of the strongest population growth in recent years.
“When we look at the more affordable suburbs on this list, it comes down to the fact housing within the inner-city or middle-ring suburbs just became too expensive, so I think a lot of people were looking to buy in those outer ring suburbs, which are close enough to the city but still offer bigger blocks of land.”
Megan Lieu, REA Group senior economic analyst.
Ms Lieu said much of the price growth in the more premium suburbs in regional Queensland could be attributed to lifestyle appeal.
“For example, suburbs like Tallebudgera Valley, just offer a lot of lifestyle benefits and people are drawn to them because they have larger blocks and a lower supply of housing.”
She said the fact the analysis showed some Queensland suburbs had quadrupled in value over the past 10 years, while others had barely moved, highlighted the importance of buying in markets with strong long-term demand drivers rather than relying on broad market averages.
“Areas where there is a lot of development, infrastructure, transport, are always going to be in high-demand — or, suburbs that are still affordable and with large blocks of land and low supply,” she said.
“I think we’re unlikely to see the growth we had during the Covid boom again and most buyers who bought 10 years ago have made strong equity gains and have financial buffering when it comes to interest rate hikes.”
Metropole Property Strategists founder Michael Yardney.
Metropole Property Strategists director Michael Yardney said the biggest property gains were not always in the capital cities.
“People talk about property doubling every decade, but…the real wealth is created when you own the right property in the right location for a long period of time,” he said.
“Lifestyle markets, scarce coastal locations and selected regional centres have delivered extraordinary capital growth over the past decade.”
Mr Yardney said that when it came to buying an investment property, buyers should put their money into an investment-grade property in a growth suburb.
“The focus should be on long-term capital growth, not short-term price fluctuations,” he said.
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