Most affordable Bundaberg, Fraser Coast, Gympie houses revealed

There are still 14 suburbs across the Wide Bay where buyers can purchase a house for less than the median price being paid a decade ago. Find out where the bargains are to be had and where values have skyrocketed.

Gin Gin has been revealed as the cheapest place to buy a house in the Wide Bay, with a median sale price still well below what the Bundaberg regional average was in 2011.

Buyers in the hunt for a property bargain in the Wide Bay can rest assured there are still a few to be found.

While the market may be hot, there remains plenty of places to snag a deal for prices well below the average price paid locally a decade ago and still at the low end in general when compared to much of southeast Queensland.

The biggest range of choices can be found further north on the Bruce Highway, according to the CoreLogic data which compared the average median price now to what it was in 2011.

Gin Gin properties remained the cheapest with a median sale price of $180,359, almost $100,000 less than the region’s 2011 median of $277,089.

Bargains could also be found at west and south Bundaberg ($252,813 and $256,546 respectively) along with Childers ($256,142) and Walkervale ($258,833).

Avenell Heights, Bundaberg North, Cordalba, Norville and Svensson Heights rounded out the list.

Heading south on the highway through the Fraser Coast, Aldershot was the best place to snag a bargain by 2011 standards thanks to a median price of $247,895.

Aldershot boasted the cheapest house prices in the Fraser Coast at $247,895.

The median Fraser Coast house price a decade ago was $286,259.

Maryborough was the second cheapest in the market; its median house ($258,386) and unit ($201,238) prices remain below the region’s average in 2011.

No Gympie region suburbs made the cut; as of a last month they all boasted median prices well above the 2011 region-wide average.

The 2011 median price for most individual suburbs across the Gympie was not recorded in CoreLogic’s data but the region-wide median jumped 60.8 per cent in that time, from $291,039 to $468,187.

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The cheapest place to buy a property in the Gympie region as of last month was Kilkivan, where the average was $307,953.

North and south Bundaberg were among the 14 Wide Bay suburbs where the median house price was still below the average for the entire region in 2011.

Gympie ($364,985), Monkland ($366,273) Curra ($434,501) and Imbil ($436,260) filled out the rest of the region’s five cheapest markets.

At the other end of the scale ocean views and beachfront living continued to be the hot ticket.

The most expensive suburbs in Bundaberg, the Fraser Coast and Gympie were Bargara at $494,008, Dundowran Beach at $682,145 and Rainbow Beach at $599,186.

CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen said the trends were a reflection of how the housing market had moved in recent years.

“Home values across the Gympie region have increased around 37 per cent in the past decade, compared to an uplift of 18.3 per cent across Fraser Coast dwellings, and an uplift of 8.3 per cent in Bundaberg, so it makes sense that Gympie is less likely to have suburbs associated with stagnating values,” Ms Owen said.

Kilkivan was the cheapest suburb in the Gympie region, although a region wide 37 per cent price rise over the past decade has ensured the average sale price in every corner of the region has soared. Photo: Philippe Coquerand

“What is interesting is that most of that value uplift in Gympie dwellings has occurred from mid-2020, and dwelling values have appreciated 31.1 per cent in the past year alone.”

This suggested the combination of low interest rates, tight stock levels and fiscal stimulus for households had driven the Queensland market forward, she said.

Gympie’s location was a boon, too.

“I think what distinguishes Gympie in particular is its relative proximity to the Sunshine Coast,” Ms Owen said.

“There may have been a spill-over of demand coming from the Sunshine Coast where affordability pressures have been climbing, and this may have prompted people in the region to look further afield, while still be in reasonable commuting distance to amenities in the city.

“It is certainly the case that with strong domestic popularity of the SEQ market through Covid, demand has ripples through to many surrounding regional areas.”