New data reveals rent price changes across Mackay, Isaac, Whitsundays

Rent in one town has jumped by a whopping 19 per cent, while unit prices at a popular Whitsundays suburb have boomed 25 per cent. See how your area fared with our interactives.

Pressure on renters continues to rise with new data revealing substantial increases in weekly rent for houses and units across the Greater Whitsundays. Picture: Zizi Averill

Pressure on renters continues to rise with new data revealing substantial increases in weekly rent for houses and units across the Greater Whitsundays.

In the cane farming town of Walkerston, median rent for a house skyrocketed 19 per cent to hit $500 a week on February 1, 2023 - a $80 year-on-year change.

A range of suburbs across the region also recorded double-digit growth.

In Cannonvale, median rent jumped 16 per cent from $580 to $675.

In the Bowen Basin town of Dysart, the price lifted 10 per cent from $300 to $330.

Median rent for units is also broadly rising.

In the beachside suburb of Slade Point, the price has gone up $75 year-on-year, a 27 per cent increase.

Airlie Beach’s Jubilee Pocket has jumped 25 per cent with renters now forking out $450 a week, a $90 rise in just one year.

Though rents continue to rise, the scale and sharpness does not match some parts of Queensland, which have recorded astronomical jumps in median rent.

In the Sunshine Coast suburb of Sunshine Beach, median rent has exploded 30 per cent from $900 a week to $1175.

Rental accommodation is in high demand in Cannonvale.

Some parts of the Mackay region also witnessed slight increases or even falls over the year.

Median rent for a house in Eimeo rose $28 to $500 a week, a 5.8 per cent increase.

In Bowen, prices were flat, remaining at $390 a week year-on-year.

In Central Mackay, prices declined by $13, moving from $450 a week to $438.

In Sarina, median unit prices fell $20, or 5.7 per cent, from $350 a week to $330.

State and local governments are moving to reduce Queensland’s escalating rental stress.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has floated the idea of a rental cap, limiting increases to once a year.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland has slammed the idea, arguing it will reduce much-needed supply in the sector, but Make Renting Fair in Queensland has lauded the proposal.

“Rental increases should be reasonable in amount and only occur once a year,” MRFQ spokeswoman Penny Carr said.

The Greater Whitsunday Housing Project, an initiative from the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsundays councils, is preparing a summit in May to formulate medium and long-term solutions to the problems.

Originally published as New data reveals rent price changes across Mackay, Isaac, Whitsundays