The suburb where unit prices have jumped $150k in a year

Meet the homeowner cashing in on the $100,000 surge in unit prices in this first homebuyer heartland.

Sales manager Adam Towell took advantage of surging home prices in his area over the past year to buy the acreage property he’s always dreamt of.

Having built a Logan house in 2022 for his new daughter, Mr Towell had made a plan to save money for a larger upgrade in coming years.

“Our plan was always to get acreage,” he said. “It was like a five to six-year plan, but about two years in, a couple of the people on our street sold their houses.”

After going through the stress of building a home for their new daughter, the Towells realised the changing home market could help them sell it for the acreage home they always wanted. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Seeing prices in his area spiking, he and several others used it as a chance to springboard funding for their new, larger house.

PropTrack’s latest quarterly home values reveal massive surges in home prices across many Queensland markets over the past year, with the City of Logan seeing some of the biggest hikes.

Slacks Creek saw the greatest jump, with a 47.2 per cent rise from median unit prices in 2023. Now at $473,334, the suburb median has risen by $151,865.

Woodridge also saw a 46 per cent rise in median unit prices in the past 12 months, with Waterford West, Edens Landing and Logan Central going up by 43 per cent.

Agent Rachel Hobbs of Ray White Marsden said this boom in the housing market represented a great chance for homeowners to upgrade, and that the rising percentage increases looked “like a repeat of Covid”.

“I think investors are tapping into that area now, knowing that the potential for growth in there is just far greater than some of our surrounding suburbs,” she said.

45 Carribean Drive: One of the many homes up for sale in Slacks Creek, where median house prices have risen by more than 20 per cent and median unit prices have risen by 47.2 per cent.

Mr Towell’s old home was in Bahrs Scrub, which had an 11.9 per cent increase in house prices. While a smaller increase, it was still enough for him to take advantage of the housing market.

“The house sold before it was even within 24 hours of going up on realestate.com.au”, he said, “[at] a near $300,000 profit over 2 years”.

While houses in his new suburb of Jimboomba had increased by 9.9 per cent, Mr Towell said he felt acreage property had been undervalued, soon finding an affordable place he felt fit his family’s needs.

“I am shocked at how much the smaller houses are going for,” he said. “The price increase in the Logan area allowed us to fulfil our dream of owning acreage years earlier than expected.”

Adam and Sharnagh Towell, with their two-year-old daughter Lexie, are grateful they jumped on the housing market when they did, while friends in the same pay bracket are falling behind thanks to rising home prices. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Ms Hobbs said several suburbs in the Logan area were so popular because of their potential for growth, and that speed was key to get ahead of the changing marketplace.

“The sooner you make an offer … the sooner you’ll probably be in the market,” she said. “In three months time, you won’t regret that decision in this market; you will regret not buying, because you’ll be in a worse position in three months’ time.”

Mr Towell said he was grateful to build a home when he did, and that he couldn’t afford a place at the prices they’re at now.

“I’ve got some friends and family that are struggling to get into the house market because of the price increase,” he said. “[They] probably could have afforded a house back three years ago when I bought a house, and now they’ve been priced out of the market.”

Originally published as The suburb where unit prices have jumped $150k in a year