Where investors should look in regional QLD right now

From affordable suburbs to hinterland towns and holiday hamlets, the top spots for investors in regional Queensland have been revealed. Check out the interactive!

From affordable suburbs to hinterland towns and holiday hamlets, the top spots for investors in regional Queensland have been revealed.

New analysis by property portal realestate.com.au shows which locations are the best performers across three key metrics – rental yield, capital growth and rental demand.

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REA economist Paul Ryan said regional Queensland had benefited from the exodus away from the major capital cities, and that was being reflected in both sales prices and rental yields.

“How long this exodus to the regions continues is hard to say, but the regions often offer more affordable properties and better rental yields,” he said.

“People considering investing should consider the long term prospects of a region, the services and amenities on offer, employment opportunities, public and private investment and so on.

“Many of the regions have the key ingredients for growth.”

Cairns, which was among the slowest regions out of the real estate boom gate, has eight suburbs where investors should be looking now, from the tourist haven of Port Douglas (units) to the affordable suburbs of Gordonvale and Mount Sheridan (houses).

Of those suburbs, Gordonvale recorded the strongest capital growth over the past decade, a solid 34.2 per cent, while Port Douglas offered the best rental yield (6.4%) and the highest growth in rental demand (+46.7%).

Port Douglas is proving to be a magnet for Covid-19 escapees and investors. PHOTO: Supplied.

Mr Ryan said while Cairns had not yet seen the sharp rise in values that some other regions had experienced, it was still recording low vacancy rates and strong yields.

“That rental growth will likely turn into price growth,” he said.

The Gold Coast has seven suburbs with good prospects for unit investors, with the biggest increase in demand in Carrara (+26.2%) and the best yield in Nerang (6.6%).

But it was Mudgeeraba that boasted the highest 10 year capital growth (+49.5%) and investor cashflow ($646.42).

Biggera Waters, Coombabah and Surfers Paradise have also been identified as hot markets for unit investors.

Interstate buyers and investors have been spending up big on the Gold Coast. Supplied.

Meanwhile, Gympie and Toowoomba each have two star suburbs for houses.

In Southside (Gympie), investors can get a brand new, four-bedroom house in the new Aspect Estate for $391,244. Soyrce: realestate.com.au

There is also a standout suburb in the South Burnett, Sunshine Coast, Fraser Coast, Western Downs, Lockyer Valley, Southern Downs, Maranoa, Whitsunday, Tablelands, Hervey Bay and Ipswich regions.

Mr Ryan said Queensland’s hottest market – the Sunshine Coast – had only one suburb on the list, the hinterland town of Nambour.

“The price growth there has likely depressed current yields, and pushed those spots out of the top spots,” he said.

Only one Sunshine Coast suburbs made the top 30 list for investors, with this four bedroom house in Nambour listed for offers over $519,000.

While Townsville did not make the top 30 across all the three metrics, Mr Ryan said the region had many suburbs with high rental yields, with local agents reporting a rush of interstate buyers snapping up investment properties

Mr Ryan said Townsville “has a diverse economy – lots of factors in its favour”.

After a tough few years for the Townsville property market, it was recently named a spot to watch this spring selling season by Hotspotting. Supplied.

NQ Buyers Agent founder Jennifer Smith, who has offices in Cairns and Townsville, said trying to even get a rental in the regions right now was a tough ask, and tenants were staying put – an attractive lure for investors.

“They feel there is less risk,” she said.

Ms Smith said she was seeing huge demand from interstate investors who had holidayed in Cairns and were now looking at the Northern Beaches area, while in Townsville they may never have visited but were drawn to its diverse economy.

Daniel and Natalie Bridson, of the Northern Territory, and their daughters Ella, 5, and Lily, 2, recently bought an investment unit in Townsville’s sought-after suburb of North Ward. Supplied.

The unit is one street back from the city’s famed The Strand precinct. It is currently rented.

Managing director of property investment company Custodian, James Fitzgerald said that regardless of where they looked, investors needed to do their homework.

“The skyrocketing gains being achieved in some regional areas makes buyers think it’s the perfect opportunity to buy at an affordable price and reap the rewards,” he said.

“If you want to buy in a regional area because you want to live there and it suits your lifestyle, family and work goals, that’s great, go for it.”

Custodian managing director, James Fitzgerald

Mr Fitzgerald said anyone considering investing in a regional location should investigate its long term returns.

“When picking a location for investment it’s important not to just latch onto somewhere that is experiencing growth now,” he said.

“Look at how prices have gone historically in that region and whether or not it usually takes a long time to sell.

“Yes, Australia is in the midst of a property boom, but that won’t last forever.”