Young couple Caleb Ivan and Tiarni Goulding moved to the northern Queensland city of Townsville with the dream of buying their first home — and succeeded.
The couple moved to the garrison city in May from near Lismore, on New South Wales' north coast, where housing prices were, in Mr Ivan's words, "absolutely stupid".
"[Housing affordability] was pretty much the biggest reason we moved here," he said.
But he had to move fast to snap up a unit under $500,000, as demand for properties surged.
"It was finding a place that was the issue. You'd see a house for sale, you'd ring up about it, and it had sold," Mr Ivan said.
Caleb Ivan and Tiarni Goulding moved from northern New South Wales to Townsville. (Supplied)
Data released today from property firm Corelogic shows Townsville dwelling values grew faster than any of Australia's capital cities in the past year, posting a 25.8 per cent increase to a median value of $512,452.
Brisbane's dwelling values grew 14.5 per cent to a median value of $881,091.
Townsville's growth also outpaced the rest of regional Queensland.
Gladstone increased 25.2 per cent to $507.986, Burnett in Wide Bay, grew 18.8 per cent to $400,495, Mackay increased 16.5 per cent to $530,000, Southport grew 16.5 per cent to $530,000, and Rockhampton grew 16.4 per cent to $530,000.
This property in Castle Hill is among the most expensive current listings in Townsville with an asking price of $3.2-3.4 million. (Supplied: McGrath Estate Agents)
Jobs and population growth
Corelogic head of research Tim Lawless said property values in Townsville were still relatively affordable but growing fast, bucking the slowing pace in the southern half of Queensland.
"It is a very diverse market," he said.
"Around south-east Queensland, we are seeing the rate of growth easing — that's definitely the case in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast.
"There's a lot of reasons why Townsville is such a strong market. The first one that comes to mind for me is that it's still a very affordable market.
"But there's also jobs and population growth."
Mr Lawless said property values had hit a low in Townsville in 2018, after falling by about 27 per cent, and took until December 2023 to recover.
"That explains why it's so affordable and that affordability advantage obviously won't last too much longer, if we see values rise as quickly as they are at the moment," he said.
"I'm not seeing any signs of the market slowing down, but ultimately you wouldn't describe it as sustainable."
Limited supply
Demand for housing in Townsville is increasing ahead of the arrival of roughly 800 soldiers over the coming years, and ahead of major projects including the Copperstring energy transmission line.
Real estate agent Stephanie Turnbull said there simply was not enough housing supply.
"We don't have enough stock to sell, though vendors are in a fantastic position at the moment," she said.
Stephanie Turnbull says first home buyers are finding it frustrating to break into the market in Townsville. (ABC North Qld: Georgia Loney)
"I've had some [buyers] had some that have been looking for a year … buyers are getting very frustrated and emotional," she said.
Housing advocacy group QShelter's Jackson Hills said he was concerned about the rapid property value rise in Townsville, which had typically been relatively affordable.
"That is now becoming beyond the reach of many our our low to moderate income families," he said.
Mr Hills said current projections indicated about 20,000 more people would be living in Townsville by 2031.
"There's meant to about 1,100 new dwellings provided each year, but we're not on track to meet that in terms of construction," he said.
Still affordable
First home buyer Caleb Ivan said while property for sale was hard to find in Townsville, he was pleased at his decision to buy in the garrison city.
"We were from northern New South Wales, down Lismore way, and the prices there went absolutely stupid," he said.
"You couldn't justify the prices for what you get.
"All you can do is hope for the best really, and I think we did all right."