Brisbane’s 10 best and worst property markets, and what to expect in 2025
Brisbane's property landscape has diverged, with a two-speed market delivering growth in the more affordable suburbs and some alarming falls in the more affluent city and inner suburban areas.
House prices have fallen in some of Brisbane’s most exclusive suburbs, in signs the city’s red hot property boom may slowly be winding to an end.
Median house prices in the blue-chip, inner riverside suburbs of Hamilton, West End, New Farm and Yeronga have all fallen over the past 12 months, as revealed in data from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
Leading the falls was West End, just south of the Brisbane CBD, where the median house price fell 30.9 per cent in the year to 30 September, to $1.02 million.
Among the ten worst performers in the year were Hamilton, where prices fell by 15.4 per cent, to $1.74 million; New Farm, down 4.1 per cent to $2.49 million; and Yeronga (down 0.9 per cent to $1.27 million), according to the REIQ.
Yet overall, the Brisbane market remained robust, with house prices city-wide growing 17.1 per cent — capping off a massive 73 per cent price growth over five years.
The median house price in Brisbane is now $1.18 million, placing the river city behind only Sydney as the nation’s most expensive property market.
Top 10 suburbs for house sale price growth |
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| RANK | SUBURB | ANNUAL MEDIAN SALE | 1YR GROWTH | 5YR GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manly | $ 1,592,000 | 38.43% | 101.52% |
| 2 | Virginia | $1,200,000 | 37.14% | 105.13% |
| 3 | Macgregor | $1,356,000 | 34.06% | 86.78% |
| 4 | Sandgate | $1,250,000 | 28.21% | 77.30% |
| 5 | Wooloowin | $ 1,600,000 | 27.74% | 99.25% |
| 6 | Cannon Hill | $1,450,000 | 27.53% | 100.55% |
| 7 | Kuraby | $1,205,500 | 25.93% | 71.60% |
| 8 | Holland Park | $ 1,367,500 | 25.17% | 89.93% |
| 9 | Wynnum | $1,225,000 | 25.00% | 91.41% |
| 10 | Nudgee | $1,110,000 | 24.51% | 76.89% |
Bottom 10 suburbs for house sale price growth |
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| 1 | West End | $ 1,016,000 | (30.88%) | 10.28% |
| 2 | Hamilton | $ 1,740,000 | (15.43%) | 10.83% |
| 3 | South Brisbane | $ 627,500 | (13.51%) | 11.53% |
| 4 | Taringa | $ 1,580,000 | (7.06%) | 75.56% |
| 5 | Nundah | $ 1,023,000 | (4.62%) | 48.80% |
| 6 | New Farm | $ 2,487,500 | (4.05%) | 71.55% |
| 7 | Belmont | $ 1,201,500 | (3.88%) | 69.23% |
| 8 | Newmarket | $ 1,390,000 | (2.24%) | 43.15% |
| 9 | Yeronga | $ 1,272,000 | (0.93%) | 69.60% |
| 10 | Deagon | $ 793,000 | (0.88%) | 61.84% |
According to experts, despite price falls in some areas, the Brisbane market overall is likely to remain robust, albeit at slow growth rates.
Antonia Mercorella, CEO, REIQ, said Brisbane’s growth had been extraordinary but the pace was moderating as the market stabilises.
“Rising interest rates, inflation and increased cost-of-living pressures are leading to more cautious buyer behaviour and a return to more sensible, conditional contracts,” Ms Mercorella told Australian Property Investor Magazine.
The bayside suburb of Manly was Brisbane’s best performer over the year with house prices surging 38.4 per cent to $1.59 million — taking total growth over five years to a whopping 101.5 per cent.
Another in the top ten was Wynnum, also bayside and directly north of Manly, where house prices grew 25 per cent in the year, to a median of $1.22 million — up 91.4 per cent over five years.
Kelly Isaacs, Principal, First National Wynnum Manly, said the stellar growth in the area had been underpinned by people moving north, especially from Melbourne.
“Manly has always been a really popular stop, it’s close to the city, it’s right on the water, we’ve got beautiful housing and it’s a beautiful place to live,” Ms Isaacs said.
“Obviously Covid had people move north, and if you’re going to move north you might as well live somewhere really nice”.
Ms Isaacs said southern buyers had been very active in the area generally, which had a knock-on effect on prices.
“Obviously people have come here directly but other people in Brisbane have been able to sell their houses for really great prices and have been able to come here,” she said.
The outer northern bayside suburb of Sandgate recorded the fourth highest gains, with house prices up 28.2 per cent for the year, to $1.25 million.
Others in the top ten included the northern suburbs of Nudgee and adjacent Virginia, which saw houses prices grow by 24.5 per cent (to $1.11 million) and 37.1 per cent (to $1.2 million) respectively.
Also delivering strong growth were outer southern suburbs Macgregor, next to Sunnybank and Kuraby, in the outer growth corridor, where prices grew 25.9 per cent to $1.206 million.
Historically, houses in inner-city blue-chip suburbs are usually the first to boom in a property upswing, followed by middle and then outer suburbs.
For units, media prices in six suburbs soared by more than 30 per cent in the year. Leading the charge were the inner suburbs of Milton and East Brisbane, where prices grew by 37.1 per cent (to $608,500) and 36.8 per cent ($680,000) respectively.
Top 10 suburbs for unit sale price growth |
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| RANK | SUBURB | ANNUAL MEDIAN SALE | 1YR GROWTH | 5YR GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton | $ 608,500 | 37.13% | 36.74% |
| 2 | East Brisbane | $ 680,000 | 36.82% | 80.61% |
| 3 | Northgate | $ 632,500 | 33.72% | 66.89% |
| 4 | Auchenflower | $ 691,250 | 33.45% | 50.11% |
| 5 | Greenslopes | $ 680,500 | 33.43% | 72.28% |
| 6 | Gordon Park | $ 610,000 | 31.89% | 94.16% |
| 7 | Paddington | $ 765,000 | 27.50% | 66.30% |
| 8 | Taringa | $ 663,500 | 26.38% | 70.13% |
| 9 | Doolandella | $ 530,000 | 26.19% | 82.76% |
| 10 | Zillmere | $ 540,500 | 25.99% | 75.49% |
Bottom 10 suburbs for unit sale price growth |
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| 1 | Hawthorne | $ 730,000 | 2.67% | 46.00% |
| 2 | Bulimba | $ 826,000 | 4.56% | 26.11% |
| 3 | Stones Corner | $ 625,000 | 5.93% | 27.55% |
| 4 | Newstead | $ 670,000 | 6.76% | 7.63% |
| 5 | Kelvin Grove | $ 520,000 | 7.22% | 28.00% |
| 6 | Mitchelton | $ 590,000 | 7.66% | 43.03% |
| 7 | Carseldine | $ 590,000 | 9.77% | 60.76% |
| 8 | Moorooka | $ 560,000 | 9.80% | 65.93% |
| 9 | New Farm | $ 860,000 | 9.90% | 50.88% |
| 10 | Windsor | $ 580,000 | 10.48% | 42.33% |
Note: For all tables, only suburbs which recorded over 10 quarterly sales/40 annual sales were included to ensure statistically significant volumes. Data is to end of September quarter 2024. Source: REIQ
The western suburb of Taringa stands out, appearing on both the list of top ten performers for units and bottom ten for houses, likely reflecting affordability constraints.
In the year to 30 September, Taringa apartments grew by 26.3 per cent to $663,500, while the median house price in the suburb fell 7.1 per cent to $1.58 million.
Regardless, house prices in the suburb still slightly outperformed over five years, delivering 75.6 per cent growth, compared to 70.1 per cent for units.
Olympics, housing shortages to prop up demand
Buyers agent Simon Clarke, Director of Brisbane’s Setlr, said there was less urgency from buyers in the inner-city areas.
“There is definitely less urgency from buyers over the last couple of months, some people are waiting for interest rates to change and to then jump back in the market,” he told said.
While there was some talk of the Brisbane market being overvalued, he disagreed with that sentiment.
Mr Clarke said Setlr had analysed CoreLogic sales data and compared house prices for Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, within 10 kilometres of the CBD.
For Brisbane the median price was $1.35 million, well down on Melbourne’s $1.65 million — and a fraction of Sydney’s, which was a whopping $3.05 million.
He said Brisbane, although slowing from huge growth rates, was likely to remain a strong market.
“Property can’t keep going up linearly for every suburb, there are bumps along the way, so I’m not surprised to see prices going backwards in those suburbs,” Mr Clarke said.
Booming prices in Manly and Wynnum were being underpinned by professional couples priced out of some inner-city markets looking for homes with good access to transport and good schools.
SQM Research Managing Director Louis Christopher predicts Brisbane will record strong price growth in 2025, underpinned by ongoing strong migration and robust employment.
He forecasts median dwelling prices will grow by between 9 per cent and 14 per cent in the year, which would be Brisbane’s twelfth straight year of dwelling price increases.
“The leading indicators of stock on market suggest that Brisbane housing shortages are more acute than where the local market stood at the end of 2023,” Mr Christopher said.
“Interstate migration flows are expected to remain robust over 2025 and employment growth is expected to stay positive.
“SQM has a longer-term view than the Brisbane housing market is likely to outperform the national housing market through to the 2032 Olympic Games,” he said.
