'Worst of both worlds': Toowoomba house prices jump as home ownership dream fades.

The Aussie dream of owning your own home is becoming a distant memory as house prices continue to surge. See the biggest median house price jumps in Queensland.

Garth Hamilton and south-west suburb of Toowoomba

Toowoomba’s median house price has surged nearly 16 per cent in just a year as demand for housing spikes across the state.

The 15.81 per cent jump has taken the median house price in the Garden City to $744,000.

Significant demand for housing and a lack of supply is a situation seen across Australian, and Groom MP Garth Hamilton described it as the “worst of both worlds”.

Brisbane’s median house price jumped $136,300 in a year, rising three times faster than Melbourne, as five Queensland regions including Toowoomba topped 15 per cent growth.

Mr Hamilton said the age-old Australian dream of home ownership has never been further from becoming a reality for so many people.

“A whole generation of young Australians are at risk of never getting a foot on the property ladder,” he said.

“All levels of government should be doing everything they can to fix this.

“At federal level that means pulling every demand side lever there is - starting with immigration levels which are currently running nearly double the long term average.”

The final PropTrack Home Price Index of the year, released Monday, found Brisbane (13.68 per cent) is still running far hotter than Sydney (6.98 per cent) and Melbourne (5.11 per cent) despite signs of easing in some pockets.

Overall Brisbane dwelling values rose by $128,400, while regional Queensland increased 12.52 per cent or $94,300 in just one year.

Brisbane’s median house price increased by $136,300 to $1.15m across 2025 - second only to Perth’s $142,300.

But the Queensland capital’s unit surge topped the nation, jumping $121,200 in just one year to $788,000, more than double Sydney’s $52,500 increase.

REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said “the pace of price growth was slowing in Brisbane, but it still remained one of the strongest performing markets in the country”.

“Brisbane and Adelaide prices are still rising at a much faster pace than Melbourne, particularly this month. Brisbane’s monthly growth was three times as fast,” she said.

Five Queensland SA4 regions posted annual growth above 15 per cent, led by Townsville (17.23 per cent to $600,000) - despite being pipped for top spot for the first time in years by Perth North East (17.39pc). Median values in Queensland’s highest-growth regions range from $577,000 in Central Queensland (15.66 per cent) to $835,000 in Ipswich (16.79 per cent), with Mackay–Isaac–Whitsunday (16.81 per cent, $601,000) and Toowoomba (15.81 per cent, $744,000) in between.

Ms Creagh said both Greater Brisbane and the Gold Coast were “likely benefiting from the 2032 Olympic plans” driven by infrastructure spending and continued investor activity at a time when lower interest rates have improved borrowing power with listings tight.

“The Gold Coast is still one of Australia’s strongest housing markets in level terms, with annual price growth still running well above the national average,” she said, “But momentum has eased slightly into late 2025, compared with the sharp acceleration in 2023 and 2024.”

Ms Creagh said Brisbane and the Gold Coast might be settling into a more sustainable pace of growth, where conditions were less frantic.

Southern buyers “pushing down the value chain” were still pouring into Queensland, Ms Creagh said, taking advantage of the price gap with southern capitals.

Originally published as 'Worst of both worlds': Toowoomba house prices jump as home ownership dream fades.