Ipswich named South-East Queensland’s most affordable land
With attractive prices, steady land supply and growing infrastructure, Ipswich has been named South-East Queensland’s most affordable destination for new land buyers.
New research by property services group Oliver Hume showed Ipswich’s median price for new land increased by 10.2 per cent over 2024.
Over the December quarter, Ipswich LGA’s new land prices rose by 2.2 per cent to reach a median of $368,000, with 452 homesites sold.
That was followed by Logan LGA, with 336 homesites sold at a median price of $376,875.
Despite a closer median price point, buyers in Logan secured larger homesites, with a median size of 463 square metres, compared to 400 square metres in Ipswich.
Moreton Bay rounded the podium with a median land price of $416,000 with a median size of 398 square metres.
Oliver Hume chief economist Matt Bell said the current land market had been driven by affordability.
“The South-East Queensland market remains relatively healthy with good fundamentals around population and economic growth,” Bell said.
Bell said land buyers activity has surged in Ipswich, with 18 homesites worth more than $5.8 million sold in less than 48 hours by ID_Land’s Dawn Walloon project.
Buyers of the 18 lots included 10 first home buyers, three upgraders, and five interstate buyers, with an average price point of $325,000.
“The fact you can still buy a quality homesite in a new master-planned community for close to $300,000 makes it extremely attractive and opens it up to a much broader segment of buyers,” he said.
Australian land prices surged by 7.6 per cent in 2024, increasing more than twice the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) consumer price index (CPI) rate and five times faster than building material costs.
In the 2024 September quarter, the median price of a lot sold nationwide was $366,510.
The growth of land prices has been driven by capital cities, with a median price increase of 9.2 per cent compared to 2023, reaching $408,160.
Brisbane saw one of the strongest growth in median land prices, rising 21.2 per cent over the last 12 months.
Brisbane median land prices reached $716,000 in the December quarter.
Comparatively, regional areas nationwide have remained more affordable, with a median price of $281,910 in 2024.
Bell said the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points would also bring more buyers to the South-East Queensland market.
“While this single rate cut won’t have a massive direct impact on affordability, the shift into the easing cycle could have a more significant impact on activity, with consumers building potential future rate cuts into their housing budgets,” he said.
“We’ve already seen improved levels of enquiry and activity since late January as a direct result of rate cut expectations.”
“We expect prices across the south-east to grow moderately this year as more supply comes to market.”