It’s no secret that property prices have been soaring in Queensland for the last few years — Brisbane’s average house price hit a new high last November — so it may come as no surprise that the suburbs more in demand last year are areas typically associated with flooding and less-than-ideal reputations, as these very drawbacks have made them more affordable than more well-established and central suburbs.
These outer pockets represent an opportunity for many first-time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder, and they’re not without their advantages — besides affordability — as some of them are in sought-after school catchment zones.
It’s possible to know what the demand is for each suburb by analysing key queries, as realestate.com.au has done in their study. By narrowing it down to enquiries rather than just views per listing, the team has filtered out people who might just have been browsing and were not potential buyers.
The most wanted suburbs in Queensland
Flood-prone Rocklea was the most popular suburb in Queensland, followed by Forestdale in the Logan-Beaudesert area. Rocklea wasn’t even the only flood risk in the top 10, as Redbank Plains also made the cut, followed by Waterford, Hillcrest, Darra, Woodridge, Gailes and Logan Central (for units). Marsden, thanks to the high standing of Marsden State High School, came in 9th for units.
It’s clear we in Queensland love an underdog, because suburbs that were named in the 2024 No Go Zones report by Positive Property all over the state — 13 in the Gold Coast region, 7 in Cairns, 3 in Townsville and 3 in Brisbane — have continued to grow. Townsville, in particular, is having a bit of a moment, as it’s consistently named as one the nation’s strongest markets, and values have increased on average 23.4% for units and 21.6% for houses in the past year.
Top 10 suburbs for enquiries
Brisbane
- Rocklea (153)
- Herston (130)
- Forestdale (125)
- Redbank Plains (123)
- Waterford West (122)
- Graceville (118)
- Hillcrest (116)
- Darra (116)
- Woodridge (115)
- Gailes (115)
Gold Coast
- Bilinga (101)
- Stapylton (101)
- Molendinar (98)
- Coomera (houses, 94)
- Canungra (88)
- Pimpama (84)
- Kingsholme (83)
- Yatala (82)
- Coomera (units, 82)
- Helensvale (81)
- Currumbin (81)
Townsville
- Cranbrook (70)
- Condon (63)
- Vincent (61)
- Aitkenvale (60)
- Kirwan (units, 60)
- Stuart (55)
- Thuringowa (55)
- Garbutt (houses, 54)
- Mundingburra (53)
- Kirwan (houses, 51)
- West End (51)
- Garbutt (units, 51)
Cairns
- White Rock (65)
- Barrine (57)
- Earlville (52)
- Cairns North (51)
- Bungalow (51)
- Mooroobool (50)
- Aeroglen (49)
- Manoora (49)
- Edmonton (49)
- Mount Sheridan (47)
- Smithfield (47)