Queensland has topped the nation for supercharged suburbs primed for price growth, with 15 city and regional locations flagged for soaring home sales.
New research pinpointed 50 Aussie suburbs with the best prospects for investors, underpinned by a sustained rise in property sales.
Hotspotting’s Price Predictor Index (PPI) highlighted a total of 28 house and 22 unit markets, with the Sunshine State “dominating” the seasonal list, report author and property analyst Terry Ryder said.
Most of the supercharged suburbs were in the capital cities
“The Supercharged Suburbs [are] places likely to deliver price uplift,” Mr Ryder said.
“Locations with a strong trend of rising sales activity from quarter to quarter are generally primed for price growth in the near future.”
With most of the latest supercharged suburbs found in capital cities, Greater Brisbane’s standout performers included house markets in Manly West, Thornlands, Regents Park, Victoria Point, and Banksia Beach, and units in New Farm, Upper Mount Gravatt, Woodridge and Calamvale.
A unit in this Upper Mount Gravatt building just went under offer
Four Gold Coast suburbs made the list, including Mermaid Beach, Palm Beach and Burleigh Heads for units, and Ormeau for houses.
Other regional hotspots were houses in Redlynch, Cairns, and Sippy Downs, Sunshine Coast.
Trailing Queensland, Victoria had 14 supercharged suburbs, NSW and South Australia seven each, the Northern Territory three, and both Western Australia and the ACT had two.
New Farm recorded the highest quarterly sales of any Queensland suburb on the list with 91 unit sales in the most recent period, up from 52 a year earlier.
Aaron Woolard, of Place Estate Agents, said New Farm’s popularity had exploded with the gentrification of the area, with downsizing buyers finding value in the riverfront apartment market.
New Farm recorded more apartment sales over the past quarter than any other suburb in Queensland
“New Farm always attracts such a wide demographic of buyers, and although investor inquiry has been a little lighter over the last few years, we are starting to see a comeback with the easing of interest rates and the strong rental demand in the area,” Mr Woolard said.
“The local apartment market continues to outperform surrounding areas and even houses, with the gap in price between the two sorts of properties decreasing.”
Recent sales included $1.96m for a two-bedder in the riverfront Gemini building which had been held by the same family for more than 50 years, and a one-bedroom unit on Sydney Street sold for $640,000 to a first-home buyer who beat out three other offers made within days of listing.
Mr Woolard said the last sale for that style of property was $595,000 six months ago, indicating intensifying demand for traditional investor stock.
First-home buyers Flyn Park and Olivia Farrell have just purchased a unit in New Farm. Picture: Steve Pohlner
First-home buyers Flyn Park and Olivia Farrell knew they had to act quickly when they found their dream apartment in the inner-city hotspot, securing a riverview two-bedder for $785,000.
It last sold three years ago for $500,000.
The couple had narrowed their search to New Farm’s classic 1970s-style brick buildings, seeking a unit in an elevated corner position to take advantage of the river breeze.
“I knew what I wanted. We were looking for some time, and we watched the market here go crazy,” Mr Park, 25, said.
“You want to buy in an area where lots of people want to live – so when we found what we were looking for, we jumped on it.”
Pricey Mermaid Beach was one of the Gold Coast’s strongest markets
On the Gold Coast, Palm Beach jumped from 65 to 106 unit sales, while Burleigh Heads more than doubled from 35 to 101.
Buyers agent Oliver Dunstan, of Rose and Jones, said rising sales activity was being driven by a mix of long-term owners cashing out and more recent buyers offloading properties due to increased holding costs.
“Coming from a low base level of sales volume over recent years, we have witnessed a mixture of long-term owners trading out of assets to release funds, but also vendors who bought at high prices during Covid and are now selling due to rising ownership costs,” Mr Dunstan said.
“Being such high-demand areas, vendors don’t need to wait for market improvements — there’s almost always a strong pool of buyers ready to act.”
buyers agent Oliver Dunstan, of Rose and Jones
Mr Dunstan investor sentiment on the Gold Coast remained “suppressed” due to broader economic uncertainty, but expected a rebound later this year after the federal election and predicted interest rate cuts.
“The rental market remains very competitive, so strong yields are still available for investors willing to enter the market,” he said.
The report also noted Queensland’s dominance among the nation’s most stable property performers, with 13 suburbs making the Top 50 Most Consistent Markets.
“The value of consistent markets should not be overlooked,” Mr Ryder said. “These often deliver good price growth and tend to be safe places to invest.”
This three-bedroom house in Manly West sold for $970,000
The Gold Coast’s Hope Island, Robina and Mermaid Waters unit markets were all marked for sustained buyer demand, alongside affordable Brisbane growth pockets such as Caboolture South and Redcliffe.
But not all markets were surging. Five Queensland suburbs were flagged among the nation’s 30 worst performers — including Murrumba Downs, Newport and Redcliffe, where rising prices may be pricing out buyers.
“Prices in all three suburbs have steadily increased in the past two years and the slowdown of sales may now be reflective of traditional buyers in those markets now being priced out,” Mr Ryder said.
Across the board, regional Queensland emerged as one of the nation’s most promising investment prospects.
Sales activity was up 20 per cent on last year and 24 per cent compared to two years ago, with major centres like Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Townsville, Cairns, and the Whitsundays all recording strong upward trends.
A Thornland house recently sold for $1.15m
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On the Gold Coast, 64 per cent of markets posted positive transaction levels, with only three suburbs in decline.
“Sales activity has risen quarter by quarter over the past year,” the report noted.
Brisbane was described as “steady,” with sales volumes across Greater Brisbane up 13 per cent on the previous year and 30 per cent higher than two years ago. More than half of its suburbs recorded positive trends.
“The Brisbane market continues to be positive,” Mr Ryder said.
“Unit markets remain strong, comprising around 33 per cent of sales in recent quarters, up from 30 per cent a year earlier.”
House markets in Ashgrove, Aspley, Springwood, Strathpine, and Capalaba were highlighted for strong sales growth, while unit markets in Milton, Carina, Cannon Hill, Teneriffe, and Woodridge were also rising.
A four-bedroom house in Sippy Downs sold for $1.25m
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