Top 10 Queensland suburbs October 2015

The suburb of Hamilton, which took third place with median price growth of 28 per cent, is one of only two suburbs in the top 10 within the capital city precinct. Situated six kilometres from the Brisbane CBD, Hamilton features a 304 hectare development site, with many residential offerings already completed, and a few still in the works. A potential hotspot for investors, this hilly Brisbane suburb is located on the north bank of the Brisbane River, with views of the CBD. In terms of growth drivers, Hamilton is home to a plethora of restaurants, cafés and bars, retail outlets and plenty of parks.

The only other Brisbane suburb in the Queensland top 10 is Burbank, a large greenbelt suburb in south-east Brisbane.

Park Ridge, in the south-east Queensland city of Logan, took the number one position for house growth with 30 per cent growth in the September quarter. The suburb is in a rural setting, offering four schools, a park and a grocery store, and primarily attracts couples with children.

At the top of the list for units is the suburb of Kooralbyn, approximately 85 kilometres inland from the Gold Coast. With 31 per cent growth this quarter, the suburb features Ramada Kooralbyn Valley Resort, an integrated eco health and wellness resort currently in development and due to open in early 2016. The resort brings with it several amenities, including full sports facilities, golf course, hot springs and more. Kooralbyn also has a substantial shopping complex.

Heading north up the coast of Queensland, suburbs Mackay and Garbutt experienced similar growth, at 21 and 22 per cent respectively. Each containing shopping centres, parks and schools.

Investors have recently been cautioned to approach Mackay with caution though, after a recent report claimed the property market in the region had turned a corner.

Empower Wealth’s Ben Kingsley said that despite some potentially positive signs, investors shouldn’t rush back into the Mackay market. Mr Kingsley believes mining towns across the country are yet to see the worst of the downturn.

“In regards to mining towns, I would still be cautious before jumping in. I don’t think we've seen the bottom yet – we’re still seeing finalisations of capital expenditure and still some finishing off of expansions of some of the mines," he said.

Investors have recently been cautioned to approach Mackay with caution

“So I suspect we’re going to see less rental demand than we’ve seen. That will obviously mean that as these construction jobs further decline, we’ll still see a bit of vacancy and so there will be very little appetite or demand, which will affect prices.”
But Mackay may be in a better position than most once the recovery does commence, according to Mr Kingsley, owing to its attempts at economic diversification and location.

“It’s too early yet. I’d definitely say that Mackay as a township has got lifestyle appeal, it’s next to the Whitsundays, so from that point of view it has got a little bit more of a diversified economy. I suspect that you’ll start to see more focus on other agricultural assets as growth drivers for the township,” he said.

Further north still, suburbs Kamerunga and Edmonton made the list for units. Kamerunga, with a growth of 18 per cent, is a suburb of tourist hotspot Cairns. While Kamerunga lacks most of the amenities deemed essential by investors, it does scrape into the 10-kilometre radius of the Cairns city centre. Edmonton, showing 20 per cent growth in the September quarter, is also situated 10 kilometres from the city centre.

Carbalah, at 26 per cent growth, is of particular interest to investors as it has recently moved from mostly farm land into residential development.

Rounding out the top 10 is Avondale, a suburb near the city of Bundaberg, which saw 28 per cent growth.

Top 5 Queensland suburbs for October (houses) 
Park Ridge: 30.0%
Hamilton: 28.0%
Avondale: 28.0%
Burbank: 27.2%
Cabarlah: 26.2%

Top 5 Queensland suburbs for October (units) 
Kooralbyn: 30.5%
Garbutt: 21.9%
Mackay: 21.1%
Edmonton: 20.5%
Kamerunga: 18.3%

* Based on CoreLogic RP Data quarterly growth figures