Queensland’s Warwick a darling pick for sub-$400k investments

Combining the insights of a 14-strong investment expert panel and open-source data about local housing performance, the Fast 50 report gives unparalleled insight into 50 Australian suburbs that are primed for future growth.

Located in the Southern Downs region of Queensland, and part of the wider Darling Downs, Warwick is located 130 kilometres south-west of Brisbane — making it just a two-hour drive from the state capital. Even closer is the regional city of Toowoomba, just one hour’s drive.

If proximity to those two central business districts was not enough, it’s also just a 2.5-hour drive from the lifestyle haven of the Gold Coast, making Warwick an extremely attractive regional prospect just an arm’s reach from modern conveniences — and provides a nearby escape for residents fleeing the relatively higher prices that are continuing to be seen in Brisbane.

As the capital city continues its expansion outwards, it’s likely that more and more Queensland residents will set their sights on locales such as Warwick, which are large enough to provide them with the services they require, but small enough to have a local feel.

Settled more than 150 years ago, the area can trace its rodeo roots back to a professional buck jumping content in 1857, according to Southern Queensland Country.

On the banks of the Condamine River, Warwick is known for its sandstone buildings and architecture and is the administrative centre of the local government area comprising the Southern Downs region.

The Southern Downs Regional Council, which calls Warwick home, states that the area “offers an outstanding mix of investment and business opportunities”.

“In Warwick, the houses and the backyards are big, but the mortgages are small, especially compared with city prices,” the council has noted.

There are plenty of housing options in the area, with the local government touting the abundance of choices — ranging from spacious modern homes in new estates to a charming Queenslander, or even the opportunity to “embrace country life with a larger rural residential block just five minutes outside of the CBD”.

The Queensland government has earmarked Warwick as one of the areas for future business investment, with the region boasting its own state development office.

The wider area’s main industries include agriculture, aviation, construction, education, manufacturing, renewables, and tourism — and it’s this diversity that enables the resilience of the local economy.

Closer to home in Warwick, the Southern Downs regional economy has “competitive strengths in agriculture, food product manufacturing and transport/logistics”.

Further proof that Warwick has a strong future is in the recent pledge of more than $370 million for the Toowoomba to Warwick pipeline by the state government.

Back in January, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk officially signed off on the project, which is set to provide “more than 400 good jobs in the south-west regions”.

She had said: “This is fantastic news for the people of Western Queensland, with a pipeline of good, quality jobs just around the corner.”

“We know that water security is absolutely vital to these local economies, as well as the liveability of our Queensland communities.”

With major construction kicking off this year, pre-construction activities have already been underway.

The pipeline, which will deliver water to Warwick, also provides future “drought contingency for residents of Southern Downs Regional Council”.

To see what other suburbs made the Fast 50 2024, you can download the report here.

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