Toowoomba property: Sales below $450,000 collapse after Covid-19 as buyers forced to look outside city

Broad swathes of the Toowoomba housing market are now inaccessible to many potential buyers as the city’s growing affordability crisis looks set to continue into 2025.

The dream of owning a home for a reasonable price is now further out of reach for Toowoomba residents, with new figures revealing the shocking lack of affordable housing across the Garden City.

Houses and units in price brackets below $500,000 are drying up, according to an analysis of property data by News Corp.

It showcases how Toowoomba’s property market has exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic, with domestic migration and a shortage of housing driving previously affordable suburbs to record-high sale prices.

The trend has led some agents to argue the new baseline for a “move-in ready” home in Toowoomba was actually now more than $500,000 — and unthinkable reality just five years ago.

Figures from RP Data show just over 500 homes and units were sold for $450,000 or less across Toowoomba’s 30 main suburbs in 2024, down from more than 2260 transactions for the same areas back in 2021 — a 76 per cent drop.

This number gets even more stark for dwellings below $300,000, with just 136 sold last year below that benchmark compared to nearly 900 sales four years ago.

A review of available listings on realestate.com.au suggests this trend isn’t likely to change, with just 29 homes or units available for sale at or below $450,000.

The available homes include properties in areas like South Toowoomba, Newtown, Drayton and Rockville.

Good Real Estate's Brendan Mayles.

For $300,000 or less, just three dwellings are listed for sale in the greater Toowoomba area.

Good Real Estate owner Brendan Mayles said it was “nearly impossible” to secure a house in the city’s main suburbs that didn’t require extensive work for less than $500,000.

“The new price point is $500,000 to $600,000 now — if you want a nice home in a good area, you’ve got to start there,” he said.

“We did an open-home in Kearneys Spring, there were 35 groups through, and by the time we’ve gone to offers, we’ll have had 50 people through.

“Three years ago, we’d be looking at (selling for) $400,000 to $450,000 and we’d be hi-fiving — but by the time we’re done, we’ll end up in the low to mid-$600,000 range.”

Mr Mayles said he urged buyers to consider towns and communities outside Toowoomba for more affordable options.

“The outlying areas of Toowoomba are where they’re considering, so your Pittsworths, Oakeys, Millmerrans, eyeballs have increased on these areas compared to before,” he said.

“I’ve heard more people say they’re going to look at Pittsworth and other towns than before.”

It comes as Finder and PropTrack data revealed the median household incomes needed to buy in Toowoomba’s top suburbs, with some areas requiring take-home pay above $230,000 a year.

The analysis found just 159 Queensland suburbs (out of more than 1000) where a buyer could purchase a house in with a gross salary under $100,000 — and just two were in Toowoomba (South Toowoomba and Harlaxton).

The analysis measured the income a buyer would need if purchasing at the median price in each suburb with a 20 per cent deposit and a 30-year loan at current interest rates.

It means suburbs like Blue Mountain Heights ($233,000), Middle Ridge ($180,000) and Highfields ($169,000) are far out of reach of most Toowoomba households, given the median income was just $75,000 in the 2021 census and wages have not grown in step with housing during that time.