The 10 best suburbs in Regional Qld for first home buyers
Find out which suburbs in Regional Queensland made the top 10 list in Canstar’s Bright Starters Australian First Home Buyer Report powered by Hotspotting.
There are plenty of great locations in Regional Queensland where you can buy a home for less than $368,500. This was the cut-off price we used to come up with our ‘Bright Starter’ suburbs in this area. (For more on why we chose this see our full report.)
Of course, price isn’t the only consideration for first home buyers. A good lifestyle and prospects for growth should also be on the checklist. In Canstar’s inaugural Bright Starters Australian First Home Buyer Report we used five key metrics – sales volumes, price growth, vacancy rates, infrastructure and proximity to work and amenities – to identify suburbs that are desirable and likely to grow in value over time. Check out our list below.
The 10 best suburbs in Regional Queensland for first home buyers
- Bundaberg East
- Kin Kora
- Frenchville
- Kirwan
- Maryborough
- Nambour (Units)
- Nerang (Units)
- Newtown
- Sippy Downs (Units)
- Yeppoon (Units)
Bundaberg East
There’s a lot more to this important Central Queensland city than Bundaberg Rum. It has a vibrant multi-faceted economy, affordable housing, a nice lifestyle and a big planned infrastructure spend. The key item is the new $1 billion hospital, to be built on eastern fringe of Bundaberg, creating jobs both in construction and in operation. The supply of housing to buy or rent is very low, pushing up prices.
Kin Kora
Gladstone is a key industrial city but also a place with lifestyle, including proximity to Barrier Reef islands. A decade ago, the creation of huge gas facilities worth $60 billion overwhelmed the city’s property market, causing high vacancies and falling values. Now Gladstone is well into a strong recovery, with major (but not massive) projects generating jobs. Against that background, Kin Kora is a well-situated and affordable suburb.
Frenchville
Rockhampton is a key regional Queensland city and one of the most affordable. Its economy is growing, creating jobs, helped by a big infrastructure spend. It has lifestyle elements, being a river city close to coastal icons like Yeppoon. Frenchville is one of the most popular suburbs, with more than 200 house sales in the past year, and offers a nice balance between affordability and quality. It has schools and is close to a big shopping centre.
Kirwan
A big infrastructure spend can do big things for a local economy and real estate demand. This places Townsville in a strong position to grow, with more than $25 billion of investment in the mix. The city’s strength is economic diversity, with big elements of education, government, manufacturing, tourism and resources. Kirwan is the most in-demand suburb (400 annual sales), offering affordability plus proximity to jobs nodes and services.
Maryborough
Most of the real estate focus in the Fraser Coast region goes to the coastal suburbs on Hervey Bay looking over to Fraser Island, where tourism is the main industry. Maryborough, a little inland, is more of a commercial economy, with a number of manufacturers who are big employers. Maryborough also offers cheap houses in a market where demand from buyers and renters exceeds supply.
Nambour (Units)
After three years of big growth, the Sunshine Coast has become an expensive market, with houses a bit rich for most first home buyers. But units are very much part of the lifestyle and that presents better options. The inland town of Nambour is the cheapest option in the region and offers plenty of amenities and jobs – rail links to Brisbane, hospitals, commercial-retail precincts and plenty of industry. For those reasons, it’s a high-volume market.
Nerang (Units)
While there’s lots of hype around Gold Coast icons like Surfers Paradise, for local residents suburbs like Nerang make a lot more sense. It’s a well-connected place, with train links, the Pacific Motorway and major arterial roads like Nerang-Broadbeach Road. It has schools, shops, sports facilities, parks and the Nerang River. City Council offices are among the local employers. Houses may be unattainable but there are plenty of affordable units.
Newtown
Toowoomba is destined to be one of regional Australia’s boom economies, with big businesses setting up operations close to the new airport and upcoming Inland Rail Link hub. Many suburbs still offer houses in the $300,000s and $400,000s, including inner-city Newtown which is close to all the health, retail and commercial services of central Toowoomba. Like many suburbs called Newtown, it’s an old suburb with houses with renovation potential.
Sippy Downs (Units)
A suburb with a university is always a bustling place with a busy property market. Sippy Downs has blossomed around Sunshine Coast University campus, near the intersection of the Bruce Highway and the Sunshine Motorway. It has a shopping centre, extensive sports facilities and a national park next door. It’s close to the $2 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital. Houses are a bit pricey for first home buyers but units are affordable.
Yeppoon (Units)
Many buyers driven by the ‘Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle’ trend have targeted seaside Yeppoon, not far from Rockhampton. It’s been identified as a top-five location nationally that people would like to move to and sales activity has risen strongly in the past year, though prices remain affordable, with houses in the $400,000s and units in the $300,000s. The region has a diverse economy and a $6 billion construction pipeline.
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The best suburbs in Regional Queensland for first home buyers
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Suburb | Median price | 1-year growth | Median rent | 10% Deposit | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial outlay* | Time to save^ | Monthly repayment+ | |||||
Single income | Dual income | ||||||
Bundaberg East | $320,000 | 26% | $330 | $32,912 | 3 yrs & 6 mths | 1 yr & 9 mths | $1,290 |
Frenchville | $335,000 | 0% | $400 | $34,486 | 3 yrs & 8 mths | 1 yr & 10 mths | $1,356 |
Kin Kora | $340,000 | 19% | $360 | $34,986 | 3 yrs & 9 mths | 1 yr & 10 mths | $1,376 |
Kirwan | $335,000 | 14% | $380 | $34,486 | 3 yrs & 8 mths | 1 yr & 10 mths | $1,356 |
Maryborough | $270,000 | 19% | – | $27,727 | 2 yrs & 11 mths | 1 yr & 6 mths | $1,089 |
Nambour (U) | $345,000 | 20% | $350 | $35,523 | 3 yrs & 9 mths | 1 yr & 10 mths | $1,397 |
Nerang (U) | $360,000 | 14% | $405 | $37,060 | 3 yrs & 11 mths | 1 yr & 11 mths | $1,457 |
Newtown (Twmb) | $350,000 | 16% | $330 | $36,023 | 3 yrs & 10 mths | 1 yr & 11 mths | $1,417 |
Sippy Downs (U) | $350,000 | 18% | – | $36,023 | 3 yrs & 10 mths | 1 yr & 11 mths | $1,417 |
Yeppoon (U) | $340,000 | 15% | $370 | $34,986 | 3 yrs & 9 mths | 1 yr & 10 mths | $1,376 |
Sources: Median price, growth and median rent: CoreLogic as at 1 February 2022. Initial outlay, time to save and repayment data: canstar.com.au as at March 2022. (U) stands for units. *Initial outlay includes the deposit, stamp duty, transfer fee and mortgage registration fee. ^Time to save calculations are based on the time required to save up the initial outlay costs with the average income (ABS Personal Income by greater capital city statistical area, adjusted by ABS Wage Price Index, June 2021). Calculations assume that 20% of after-tax income is saved each month, earning a savings rate of 0.62% (average bonus savings rate over the past 12 months to 1/03/22). 2021/22 tax rates plus the 2% Medicare Levy are applied to the annual income and savings interest, and inflation of 2.5%pa is applied to income and property price. Dual income calculations assume there are two savers with the average income. Actual time to save will vary depending on your individual circumstances as well as the rate of property growth. +Repayment calculations assume principal and interest repayments over a 30-year loan term with an interest rate of 3.36% (average owner-occupier variable rate over the 12 months to 1 March 2022). LMI for an owner-occupier first home buyer (per Genworth LMI Premium Calculator) is included in the loan amount for the 10% deposit monthly repayment calculations. For initial outlay, time to save and repayment data based on a 20% deposit download the full Bright Starters report.
Cover image source: Michael Adams Aerial/Shutterstock.com
About Terry Ryder
Terry is the founder and Managing Director of hotspotting.com.au, which he created in 2006 to help investors find the best places to buy. Terry has been a specialist researcher and writer on Australian residential property in a career spanning four decades. During that time he has published four books.
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