Toowoomba Property Report 2024 – Market Wrap

2024 has been another strong year for Toowoomba’s property market.
We take a look at how real estate in our growing region fared over the last 12 months.

1. A tale of two markets

While the headline news reports are of an Aussie property market slowdown, there are only limited signs of it here in Toowoomba.

CoreLogic’s national data shows prices grew 5.5% nationally in the year to 30 November 2024. However, much of this occurred in early 2024, and prices rose just 0.1% last month.

Regional Queensland fared much better, with annual growth of 10.9%, but this slowed to 0.5% (or 6.0% p.a.) for the month of November.

In the third quarter of 2024, almost $40 billion was spent on residential property in Queensland. Our state recorded the highest number of home sales in the country (and Brisbane’s median sale price extended its lead over Melbourne’s).

Drilling down further, Toowoomba’s Newtown was the postcode with the highest number of home sales settled, recording a staggering 902 sales.

Over the last few years, our city’s property market has been one of the country’s standout performers. Toowoomba’s median house price has risen 71% over the last five years to $649,797, according to CoreLogic’s most recent Regional Market Update. Properties now sell in an average of just 15 days.

And, as we reported recently, research showed Toowoomba and surrounding regional Queensland areas accounted for nine out of the top 10 growth areas over the past 12 months.

2. Different dynamics at play in late 2024

As we wrote in our last market update, we have observed minor changes in the market in the second half of this year. Toowoomba’s buyers are beginning to become more discerning – and that is creating a more diverse property market.

Over the past five years, property prices have risen sharply across the board. But, in certain market segments, buyers are becoming more concerned about both location and price.

While there’s still plenty of demand, and our population is growing, the market is maturing and we don’t expect all suburbs and property types to continue performing as they have over the past few years.

As we move into 2025, a growing number of buyers are interested only in particular areas (like family friendly suburbs or the centre of town) or only in well presented, ‘turn key’ homes. Features such as aspect, property size and potential are all coming into play in a way they possibly weren’t just a year ago. Transport options, proximity to schools and outdoor space and even walkability are becoming increasingly important.

But even as buyers get fussier, the market is likely to remain buoyant overall – and we expect the right suburbs to perform as strongly as ever – thanks to a low supply of property for sale.

In the rental market, a vacancy rate of just 0.6% according to SQM Research, is contributing to steadily rising rents. All up, weekly rents have risen 40.7% over the last five years (and 4.6% over the last year) to reach $530 a week. Investors are receiving healthy yields of 4.2%.

3. Factors at play in Toowoomba’s property market over 2024

There were many factors at play in the Toowoomba market over 2024, but key among these were continued high interest rates, the rising cost of living, increasing population, and a low supply of new housing.

Here were some of the defining factors in the local property market:

• The RBA lifted the official cash rate from historic lows of 0.1% to 4.35% over the past couple of years, which has in turn pushed the average variable interest rate to 6.4%. This has increased the cost of borrowing, adding thousands to some people’s monthly mortgage repayments and curtailing borrowing power.
• Despite this, property prices still increased here in Toowoomba. In fact, if you own property in Toowoomba, it probably earned you well over half of average full time earnings – or more than a part-time job – every single year, for the last five years.
• Our rising population has been contributing to the strong demand, putting pressure on both the rental and sales markets. After all, everyone needs somewhere to live.
• Increased investment in infrastructure has not only provided jobs, it has made Toowoomba an attractive place to live, as well as an investment hotspot. Our strong local economy has, in turn, encouraged more migration to our regional city.
• A lack of development and too few land releases mean supply continually fell well short of demand.

4. Trends in the Toowoomba property market 2024

Over 2024 we also saw some micro trends emerge in our local real estate market:

• A rise in the volume of off-market sales, as buyers looked to capitalise on strong demand.
• A growing market in penthouses and larger luxury apartments as downsizers, young professionals and out-of-town families compete for property in central Toowoomba.
• The naming of the four-bedroom, two-bathroom, double parking house as the most popular property type both in Toowoomba and across the nation.
• A growing number of buyers looking to beat the competition by targeting “deceased estates”.
• A dramatic rise in the number of cash buyers (who don’t need a mortgage at all) as well as first home buyers borrowing from the “bank of mum and dad”.
• Important changes to disclosure laws (for those selling property), as well as new tenancy laws and several rounds of rental reform.
• Stage 3 tax cuts from the federal government giving many Toowoomba residents a small pay rise in 2024, and doing a little bit towards offsetting affordability issues.

Making a change in 2025?

The new year represents a strong influx of buyers to the market, with most people viewing it as the time to make a change. Whether it’s getting settled in a new city before a job change, having the kids in the right catchments for school changes, or just people with renewed energy to make a shift in their life, the new year is often the busiest with buyers.

Knowing where your property sits in the market is incredibly important. If you’d like a comprehensive property report on your home or investments, click here to book. It’s a no pressure propery report, showing you what’s selling in the area, how your property is positioned, and what you can expect with an updated sale price. Better yet, it’s free.

If you’d like to know more about buying or selling in Toowoomba, get in touch.