Regional towns out-shine the Gold Coast and Brisbane

By Terry Ryder, 13th April 2010

Regional centres have been the standout performers on housing price growth in Queensland over the past five years. 

Data from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland shows that regional centres and country towns throughout the state have out-performed the big-name markets in South-East Queensland. 

Inland regional centres such as Dalby, Charters Towers, Blackall, Banana, Barcaldine and the Burdekin region around Ayr all recorded increases in median house prices above 140% over the five years to the end of 2009. 

Others rural centres which saw a doubling in median prices include Goondiwindi, Longreach, Roma, Charleville, the Tablelands region near Cairns, the Central Highlands around Emerald and the Burnett region around Kingaroy. 

A key feature of the list of top performers on price growth is that few are mining towns. The list is dominated by regional towns servicing rural communities, although some such as Dalby have been impacted by activity in the resources sector. 

By contrast, the major markets of South-East Queensland and the coastal regional centres have been poor to average performers. The two worst locations for capital growth have been the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, where median prices grew only 20% over the past five years. 

The municipalities covering the outer regions of the Brisbane metropolitan area did better, including Logan City (up 50% over five years), Ipswich City (up 58%) and the Moreton region (up 35%). 

The best of the coastal cities was Rockhampton, with a 114% rise over five years, while Townsville, Mackay and Gladstone each saw their median prices increase 80% or more. 

The results highlight the strong performance of regional centres and country towns, a factor overlooked by most property investors who tend to favour the major cities and the coastal locations. This is not isolated to Queensland. Inland centres have been solid performers on capital growth throughout Australia, often outdoing the results of Sea Change towns in the same region. 

The worthiness of  the inland locations for consideration by property investors is the focus of a new report, the Hill Change Hotspots, on the hotspotting.com.au website. 

ENDS