Where first-time investors should be looking in QLD now

Twelve of Australia’s top 20 investor hot spots are located in Queensland, and they range from inner city unit markets to affordable house suburbs and sought-after resort towns.

Queensland has become Australia’s investor hotspot, with the Sunshine State home to 12 of the nation’s top 20 most coveted suburbs.

And they range from inner city unit markets to affordable house suburbs and sought-after resort towns, with the state’s record low vacancy rates, rising rents and relative affordability proving to be an attractive lure for investors.

The Ray White Group revealed that Queensland was home to the highest number of investor buyers at auction in January, with 37 per cent in Brisbane and 35 per cent on the Gold Coast.

Nationally, the number of investor buyers was just 25 per cent at auction.

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Investors are honing in on units in Brisbane Picture David Clark

Now new data from REA Group shows units in coveted beach and city suburbs ranked high on investor wishlists, with houses in some of the state’s more affordable suburbs also highly sought-after.

Top of the national list was perennial favourite Surfers Paradise, where the vacancy rate was just 0.6 per cent during the December quarter, according to the latest REIQ Residential Vacancy Report.

Three other Gold Coast suburbs also made the list – Southport, Broadbeach and Pimpama.

Ray White Surfers Paradise CEO Andrew Bell said low interest rates and higher rents made owning an investment property attractive at any buy-in.

“There is a huge demand from tenants, so what has changed dramatically is most landlords have moved from a negative gearing situation to positive cashflow,” Mr Bell said.

“My advice for investors is to buy with the dollars and cents in mind, not with your heart.”

850./3141 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise: This one bedroom unit is listed for offers over $379,000, and has an estimated rental return of between $440 and $460 a week.

The affordable Logan suburb of Redbank Plains was the nation’s third most sought-after location for first-time investors, with a median house value of just $400,000 but a solid rental return of 5.31 per cent.

Units in Southport and Brisbane City also made the top 5, with units in Melbourne in second spot.

For house investors, Caboolture’s affordable median of $468,500, alongside a rental yield of 5.14 per cent, is also proving popular.

1/21-25 Smiths Road, Caboolture: On a 400sq m block, this three-bedroom house offers an estimated rental return of $420 a week, and is listed for offers over $429,000.

First Natonal Real Estate Moreton agent Matt Stone said he had never seen such a strong investor market.

“I would say 50-60 per cent of my transactions have been investors,” he said, adding that he would “not of known what an investor was” just 18 months ago.

“They are from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne.”

Maroochydore and Alexandra Headland units were also popular, while outside of the booming southeast corner, first-time investors are honing in on the unit markets in the tourist towns of Port Douglas and Airlie Beach.

23A&B/51 Davidson Street, Port Douglas: On the market for $389,000, this three bedroom ‘dual key’ apartment could be turned into two income streams – a two-bedroom unit with a full kitchen and a studio apartment with cooking facilities.

Ray White Whitsunday principal Mark Beale said the value for money was much better now than it was pre-GFC.

Mr Beale estimated that around 250 permanent rentals had also been “lost” to owner-occupiers in the last 12 months alone, making it a competitive market for tenants and a lucrative one for landlords.

“Apartments that were $300,000 back then (pre-GFC) are still at or below $250,000, but they are achieving $300-$400 a week in rent,” he said.

124/9A Hermitage Drive, Airlie Beach: There is not a lot of unit stock available, but this fully furnished, two bedder in the Club Wyndham Resort recently sold for $350,000.

Property investment expert James Fitzgerald said regional markets had recorded extraordinary growth in the past 18 months, with that solid growth set to continue.

But he warned that not every region would perform as well this year as it did in 2021.

“There needs to be infrastructure spending, a variety of employment industries and future population growth,” he said.

“Regional markets are historically more volatile than capital city markets, so it’s important to have strong cash flow so that you can ride out all stages of the cycle.”

308/1 Ella Street, Newstead: Listed for offers in the mid-to-high $600,000s, this three bedroom unit has a rental appraisal of $645 to $685 a week.

But while the investor sweetspot has previously hovered around $500,000, BuyersBuyers co-founder Pete Wargent said the investor buy-in had soared.

“For houses, $750,000 to $1.25 million is the new normal,” he said. “Unit prices have generally increased but less dramatically.

“Investors are a bit more cautious about overpaying … many are asking whether it is still a good time to buy.”

But Mr Wargent said rental vacancy rates were at record lows and demand remained high.

“And the floods will only make this a bigger problem, so that probably points towards a 10-20 per cent growth in rents this year,” he said.