Townsville Bulletin
Elizabeth Tilley
Queensland dominates a list of the nation’s 200 most lucrative spots to invest in property, with landlords pocketing returns of more than $100,000 a year in some suburbs. Rockhampton, Townsville, and Mackay have the best bang for your buck for houses and units, while closer to Brisbane, Ipswich is the best place to invest, with East Ipswich, North Booval, and Kilcoy star performers, according to exclusive data from PropTrack.
The top 200 list is based on the latest data for rental days on market, rental yield and price growth over 12 months. Topping the list for houses is Spalding in Western Australia’s Outback, where investors have made total gains of $128,864 over the past year. Rockhampton City is next, with capital growth of $97,500 in a year and a yield of $17,588 to equal a total return of $115,088 in the past 12 months.
The gains for unit investors have been just as impressive, with Hermit Park in Townsville topping the national list, with a $110,404 annual return. It boasts a rental yield of 7.2 per cent and an affordable median unit price of $323,000 – despite growth of 41 per cent in the past 12 months.
The list is made up of mostly affordable suburbs that have consistently delivered solid returns and healthy rental yields for the past three decades. Analysts suggest continued demand and infrastructure-led population growth in these areas will keep raising property values and rental yields. “These areas have seen extraordinarily low rental vacancy rates for four years, and commensurately very strong growth in rents over that period, so that continues to make them attractive to investors,” PropTrack economics executive manager Angus Moore said. “One caveat though, is the regions of WA and Queensland that are mining areas. They can be quite volatile markets.”
Townsville has become a standout market for investors. The median unit price in some areas has jumped more than 40 per cent in a year, while the median house price has increased by up to 35 per cent, according to PropTrack. In Heatley and Vincent, the median house price is about $500,000, with growth of more than 30 per cent in a year and a rental yield of 6 per cent. InvestorKit founder Arjun Paliwal foresaw the Townsville property boom in 2022 and personally invested, while also helping his clients find properties there. “We’ve seen huge returns and price performance since then,” he said.
Urbex Realty general manager Craig Covacich said Townsville’s property market was attracting a steady flow of first-home buyers, investors and interstate relocators. “We’ve seen sustained momentum across Townsville’s property market, with stock levels shrinking faster than they can be replenished,” he said. “Townsville has become one of the most closely watched regional markets in the country due to its strong combination of affordability, rapid price growth, low vacancy rates and high rental yields.” Major infrastructure investments in the defence, mining, renewable energy, health and education sectors have increased long-term confidence in Townsville, while post-pandemic migration continues to draw families and downsizers seeking lifestyle changes.
Mr Moore said strong home price growth tended to be a good indicator of a market that was performing well, but investors still needed to do their research before buying. “Investors do need to go and dig in and understand the area and what’s been driving that, to figure out whether it’s going to continue, because locally specific factors are going to be very important,” he said. Hotspotting director Terry Ryder said many regional Queensland suburbs had delivered gross yields above 6 per cent. “We’re seeing sustainable double plays – value appreciation plus rental performance,” he said. “What stands out in our house market analysis is the sheer consistency of growth in regional and affordable areas because these are not one-off boom towns. They’re markets with real economic drivers, infrastructure investment and increasing buyer demand.”
