Home prices in Townsville have outperformed Queensland’s biggest cities in June, faring the best during the economic storm hitting Australia’s property market.
The latest PropTrack Home Price Index for June 2026 revealed Townsville’s median price is $636,264, up 0.12 per cent from May.
Meanwhile, prices in Brisbane and the Gold Coast fell for the first time in three and a half years, dropping 0.2 and 0.3 per cent respectively.
Townsville saw the best median home price rise in Queensland throughout June, while homes in the state’s major capital cities dropped in value.
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said regional Queensland avoided decreases in difficult market conditions thanks to strong buyer demand.
“I think Townsville has been a massive outperformer for quite a long time,” she said.
“It’s been an investor hotspot, but it’s also been a hotspot for first home buyers looking for somewhere affordable to live in.
“It’s still much more affordable compared to a lot of other major cities in Queensland.”
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said Townsville was a massive outperformer in Queensland, which helped it weather unstable market conditions.
Other regional markets across Queensland saw smaller drops or continued to rise, with the median home price in Cairns jumping 0.01 per cent.
“Regional markets outperformed capitals over both the month and the year,” Ms Flaherty said.
“Similarly, units have recorded smaller declines over the month compared to houses, and have seen stronger growth over the year.
“Looking ahead, affordability is likely to remain a key driver of market performance, with the share of buyers looking to purchase in more affordable areas, such as regional markets, expected to increase.”
PropTrack’s June Home Price Index has Townsville’s median sit at $636,264, with other regional markets like Cairns continuing to grow.
The market change has come after the Reserve Bank of Australia rose the national interest rate three times this year, now sitting at 4.35 per cent.
Meanwhile, the federal government announced changes to negative gearing and the Capital Gains Tax in April, designed to steer investors away from buying existing homes.
Ms Flaherty said these factors, along with continued cost of living pressures, had likely scared buyers out of the market.
“There are still a healthy amount of homes going on the market,” she said. “We’re seeing vendors have to adjust their price expectations downwards, so I think there’s a lot of opportunity out there.”
Almost every capital city in Australia saw a drop in home prices last month, including Brisbane, which fell by 0.2 per cent.
CEO of buyers agency Happy Buyers Club Sam Hunter said the news marked a positive change for the housing market.
“The latest data suggests we’re heading back towards something that resembles a normal market,” he said.
“Prices are finally stabilising. That’s not bad news.
“Eight weeks ago people were happy to pay a five per cent premium just because there was competition, and now they’re cautious to buy something for what it’s worth because they’re the only offer. That’s just human nature, and this market feels more like 2022 than 2009.”
Happy Buyers Club CEO Sam Hunter said the change in the market was a healthy sign for Australia, considering the speed in which prices had been rising.
Prices fell for the third month in a row nationally, dipping by 0.3 per cent in June.
The nation’s median price is now $903,000 – 0.9 per cent lower than its peak in March, when the year’s second interest rate hike was announced.
Prices across all capital cities have dropped by 0.4 per cent, with Sydney and Perth seeing the largest dip at 0.5 per cent.
Darwin was the only capital city to see its median rise, going up 0.2 per cent.
English (US) · 