Toowoomba property: Agencies handling more off-market transactions amid strong demand for housing

Housing is so hot in Toowoomba, properties are selling before a for sale sign has gone in the ground. Here’s what is driving this ‘incredible’ trend and why it’s unlikely to slow down.

More Toowoomba homes are being snapped up before a single “for sale” sign has been hammered into the ground, in a startling trend agents say won’t be slowing down any time soon.

Some of the city’s top agents have revealed a sharp spike in “off-market transfers” in 2024, with one agency having sold nearly $11m worth of properties in just six months.

It comes as Toowoomba’s median house price continues to climb, with key middle-class suburbs like Harristown (11.8 per cent), Newtown (14.4 per cent), Glenvale (11.8 per cent) and Kearneys Spring (13.9 per cent) seeing double-digit growth in just 12 months.

An analysis of RP Data has revealed the median house sale in Toowoomba between January and June was $600,000, up from $552,000 for the period of July to December last year.

2/6 Creek St in East Toowoomba has sold off-market for $450,000 through Colliers Toowoomba.

Experts say the new trend of off-market purchases has been a direct result of strong demand for housing while supply remains an issue.

Colliers Toowoomba director Dominic Ryan said nearly half of his agency’s transactions in June were sold before the properties had hit realestate.com.au, while nearly 20 per cent went the same way for the first half of the year.

Dominic Ryan of Colliers Toowoomba. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“The demand hasn’t backed off, but the supply has, so we’re having communications with sellers (about off-market sales),” he said.

“More buyers are asking if we’ve got something off market, and we’re seeing that in an active space up to the $1m mark.

“It’s 40 per cent of our sales (for June at a median of $646,000), it’s incredible and we’re finding we’re getting multiple offers.

“It’s an extremely active market, and a big part of the trend is our affordability and there’s so much interest from out of town to buy some real estate in Toowoomba.

“The off-market trend has formed a larger part of our sales — just the quantity is incredible, to see this double or triple is really profound.

“If people are getting results they’re satisfied with, we’re not going to prevent that.”

Mr Ryan said there were still upsides to running a full campaign, noting pre-market transactions often came with trade-offs.

“There is some flexibility required with settlement times — we are looking at longer times, up to 90 days to allow for the sellers to go and buy something,” he said.

“I still believe going to market will bring a great result and maybe a better result because the seller can dictate terms.

“With the media and the press around interest rates right now, sellers are of this belief that the market is inactive, so there’s this fear of selling.”

132 Stuart Street in Mount Lofty sold for $732,000 off-market through Colliers Toowoomba.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland’s Toowoomba branch president Daniel Burrett agreed with Mr Ryan’s observations, saying buyers were getting sick of “missing out”.

“We are getting a lot of people who ask us to keep them on our books when new opportunities come up,” the principal of Re/Max Success said.

“They’re going to get an inside run by asking — if they’re just looking online, they’re getting the same opportunity as others.

“One of the things we’ve noticed this year are more inquiries coming into the office saying, ‘this is what we’re after, here’s our budget, can you please let us know if something comes up?’.

“The uptick in that type of inquiry has been significant.

“People are sick of missing out, particularly if they’re not local.”