QLD’s regional ‘million dollar plus club’ soars to dizzying heights

The number of regional Queensland homes that have sold for over $1 million has surged tenfold since 2011. See the heat maps for Queensland’s seven-figure sales.

The number of homes that have sold for over $1 million right across Queensland has surged tenfold since 2011, with the strongest suburbs now seeing a third to half of all properties with seven-figure price tags.

Exclusive new CoreLogic data shows that 10,514 homes in Brisbane sold for $1 million or more in the year to December 2021 – a massive jump from just 1171 in 2011.

The same scenario played out in Queensland’s regional residential market, where 10,818 homes sold for $1 million or over in 2021, compared to just 1155 in 2011.

NEWS: NRL icon Johnathan Thurston lists former home for sale after record purchase

PM Scott Morrison says more renters will be able to ‘buy a home’

Mansion that caught Ash Barty’s eye back on the market

The growth in million dollar homes significantly outpaced the rise in total property sales across the state, which doubled in the past decade.

In the regions, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast had the most homeowners in the million dollar-plus club, but seven-figure prestige homes also changed hands in the Cairns, Central Queensland, Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday, Toowoomba, Townsville and Wide Bay regions in the 12 months to December.

Aerial photo of the Surfers Paradise skyline and Surfers Paradise beach, looking north, on the Gold Coast. Picture: Brendan Radke

CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said most of the price surge in Queensland was in the last couple of years, off a growth cycle that began in mid-2019.

But he said it grew “more spectacularly since onset of the pandemic”.

“We will see more and more bracket creep as more properties get pushed over $1m,” he said.

In the Cairns region, the tourist mecca of Port Douglas recorded the most seven figure contracts last year – a total of 71, or 13.3 per cent of sold stock.

An aerial view of Port Douglas PHOTO: Supplied.

Palm Cove was also popular with high-end buyers, with 47 properties selling for north of $1 million, or 15 per cent of its sold stock.

Rounding out the region’s top five was Cairns City (20 sales), Redlynch (20) and Trinity Park (19), but many more suburbs had at least one million-dollar sale.

But Raine & Horne Port Douglas director David Cotton described the top end of the market as “dormant”.

“There is some stock but not much … most of it has already gone,” he said.

“But there is still huge demand coming from locals, but the majority of that demand is still coming from the southern states.

“There really is no sign that the migration out of Sydney and Melbourne is slowing.”

Further south, 27 suburbs across the Townsville region were home to at least one $1 million-plus sale, with the beachside suburb of North Ward leading the charge with 24 seven figure sales last year, or 9.3 per cent of all stock sold.

43 Victoria Street, North Ward, sold for $1.47m

It was followed by Castle Hill – the garrison city’s most expensive suburb – with 22 sales over $1 million, but that represented over half of all sales in the sought-after suburb last year.

Other suburbs where properties changed hands for over $1 million included Horseshoe Bay and Nelly Bay on Magnetic Island, acreage suburbs including Gumlow and Alice River and family locales such as Idalia, Belgian Gardens and Pallarenda.

Ray White’s Julie Mahoney said the top end of the market in Townsville was far more affordable than down south, an attractive proposition for people returning the region,

“There is a shortage of premium stock, particularly in Castle Hill and North Ward, but even in some of the outer suburbs, there has always been few of that calibre, so when they come on, they tend to go quickly,” she said, adding that space, lifestyle, affordability and school zones were key factors for buyers.

Aerial shot of Townsville

In the Mackay region, the mega sales were confined to Airlie Beach and its surrounds, including Cannonvale, Cannon Valley and Shute Harbour.

14 The Cove, Airlie Beach, sold for $3,087,500

In total, 485 suburbs across regional Queensland recorded at least one million dollar-plus sale, up from just 177 suburbs in 2011 and 245 in 2016.

All had similar features – large acreage blocks or proximity to the water, huge drawcards during the pandemic migration to the regions.

In the Greater Brisbane region, 396 suburbs recorded at least one seven figure sale in 2021, double the number just a decade ago.

Surfers Paradise had the highest number of $1 million-plus sales – 408 in total, or 15.1 per cent of sold stock.

It was followed by Hope Island (384), Noosa Heads (334), Buderim (298) and Palm Beach (297).

Aerial photo of the Surfers Paradise skyline and Surfers Paradise beach, looking north, on the Gold Coast. Picture: Brendan Radke

Of those, Noosa Heads had the highest proportion of $1 million-plus sales with 76.1 per cent of all sold stock in 2021.

But Mr Lawless offered some hope for weary homebuyers.

“A year from now we almost guarantee we won’t see the housing market nearly as strong as now, not the same growth in million dollar sales as we had over the past year,” he said.

That sentiment echoed similar data released by REA Group recently, which found that median property values in over 100 Queensland suburbs had fallen from their peak, the first tangible sign that the Sunshine State’s crazy property market might finally be easing.

Originally published as QLD’s regional ‘million dollar plus club’ soars to dizzying heights