Free market report · Data to July 2026
Townsville property market
Townsville is one of the 453 council areas we track on the Momentum Dial, our property clock. This page is the plain-numbers read: where it sits in the cycle, who lives there, what's being built, and the suburbs inside it.
Townsville is home to 206,260 people. On the Buyers First Momentum Dial its house market currently reads Slowing, and units read the same. Here's the rest of the picture, in plain numbers.
Houses · cycle position
Slowing
The Townsville house market is still growing, but the pace has come off its fastest point. Slowing markets often keep rising for years, just less quickly.
-1% to +13%
Modelled 12-month price range
+2.9%
Modelled 12-month rent change
Units · cycle position
Slowing
The unit market is still growing, but the pace has come off its fastest point. Slowing markets often keep rising for years, just less quickly.
-3% to +15%
Modelled 12-month price range
+4.0%
Modelled 12-month rent change
At a glance · houses
$834,149
Typical house, August 2026
+3.8% a year since 2010
+8.4%
Growth a year, last 10 years
+14.5% a year over the last 5
$565
Rent a week
3.5% gross yield
5 of 15
Years prices fell since 2010
Worst: 2011, -9%
The clock measures growth momentum, not price. Peak means growing fastest, not about to fall. Cycle data and projections sourced from HtAG Analytics. See Townsville on the clock.
Free · One per person
Want all of this written up for Townsville?
The full report is this data as a written document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Townsville, and the numbers that cut against the area. I write them by hand, so it comes from me rather than out of a system.
The numbers, explained
Townsville in charts.
The typical house in Townsville went from $452,217 in 2010 to $834,149 in August 2026. That is +84% in total, +3.8% a year. It went backwards 3 years in a row at one point. Any market can have a bad year. The ones that stack them are the ones that hurt, and this is the number we weigh most.
Houses · price change each year · 2011 to 2026
Prices in Townsville fell in 5 of the last 15 years
+84%
Since 2010
+8.4%
Per year, last 10 years
5 of 15
Years going backwards
-8.8%
Worst year (2011)
What this shows. How much the typical house price in Townsville went up or down each year. Teal bars are up years, red bars are down years, and the faded bar is this year so far.
Why it matters. The size of a good year matters less than how many bad years there were and whether they came in a row. Boring? Absolutely. But the length of the down stretch is what decides whether you get out the other side. Typical price at December each year, data from HtAG Analytics.
You don't need to know property to read this. Every chart below opens with the point in one line, then says what it shows and why we care. Teal is a good sign, amber is okay, red means watch it.
The scorecard · 7 things we check
Townsville scores 21 out of 35. Mixed.
prices are still rising but more slowly
5 of 15 years
1.4 new homes approved per 100 that exist
population growing 1.2% a year
5.1% unemployed, Australia 4.2%
a house costs 7.9 years of a local household's income
1.2% of rentals are empty, so about 1 in every 100
What this shows. Seven quick checks on Townsville, each scored out of five. Five is the reading we most want to see.
Why it matters. No single number tells you whether an area is a good buy. Together they show whether the pieces line up. These are bands, not rules: a council outside a band can still be the right buy for the right person, and one inside every band can still be wrong for you.
House prices since 2010 · Townsville vs the 5 most similar councils in QLD
Townsville has grown in step with similar councils over ten years
+14.5% vs +13.8%
A year, last 5 years
+8.4% vs +8.4%
A year, last 10 years
+5.2% vs +6.4%
A year, last 15 years
What this shows. The typical house price in Townsville every year, in teal, next to the middle of the five councils in QLD closest to it in size and starting price: Toowoomba, Cairns, Redland, Ipswich, Mackay. The small "vs" number in each tile is those councils.
Why it matters. Growth here is the regional story rather than a local one. Nothing wrong with that, it just means you are buying the region.
Momentum · the last 36 months
Prices in Townsville are picking up speed right now
$829,093
3-month price, August 2026
+5.0%
3-month price vs 12-month price
4,633 vs 6,164
Houses sold, last 12 months vs the 12 before
What this shows. Two versions of the same price. The dotted teal line averages the last three months, so it reacts fast. The grey line averages the last twelve, so it moves slowly. The bars are how many houses sold each month.
Why it matters. The last three months are running ahead of the last twelve. That is what speeding up looks like before it shows in the yearly number.
New homes · approvals as a share of all the homes here
Not many new homes are being built in Townsville
What this shows. For every 100 homes already in Townsville, how many new ones the council approved each year. The teal band is the range we call balanced.
Why it matters. Fewer new homes means the ones that exist stay in demand. It can also mean building here is hard or slow, which cuts the same way. The home count is the population divided by the average household size, so treat the rate as a guide rather than a census.
Affordability · house price in years of local household income
A house in Townsville costs 7.9 years of a local family's income
What this shows. Take the typical house price and divide it by what a typical household here earns in a year. A bar of 7 means seven years of the whole household's income buys one house.
Why it matters. Stretched, which is where most of the country sits now. Growth from here leans on rising incomes and buyers coming in from outside the area. Income is the 2021 Census figure carried forward at 3.5% a year, so it is an estimate, not a measurement.
Rents · typical weekly house rent, last 36 months · and how many rentals sit empty
Rent in Townsville is $565 a week, up 8.2% in a year
$565
A week, August 2026
+8.2%
Change in the last year
1.2%
Rentals sitting empty (tight)
What this shows. What a typical house in Townsville rents for each week, month by month. The empty-rentals number is the share of rental homes with nobody in them: under 1.5% is tight, over 3% means tenants have plenty of choice.
Why it matters. Rents rising faster than inflation means more people want to live here than there are homes to rent. That pressure eventually shows up in prices.
Rental yield · a year of rent as a share of the price, Townsville vs similar councils
Rent covers 3.5% of the price each year in Townsville
What this shows. Yield is simple: a whole year of rent divided by the house price. A $500,000 house renting for $500 a week earns $26,000 a year, which is a 5.2% yield.
Why it matters. Higher than similar councils, which are around 3.1%. The rent does more of the heavy lifting here, so holding costs less out of pocket. We don't buy on yield alone and we never set a yield cut-off; it is one piece of the picture, next to growth.
The people
Who lives in Townsville.
The population has grown a steady +1.2% a year over the last five years. Overseas migration is doing the heavy lifting, 4,503 people on net over the last three years. The median age is 36 and the median household brings in $1,701 a week (Census 2021). 37% of households rent, a deep tenant pool if you're buying to hold, and more investor competition when stock is tight.
Population · ABS estimates 2015 to 2025
Townsville is growing steadily: 206,260 people, up +1.2% a year
206,260
People, 2025
+1.2% vs +1.2%
A year, last 5 years · typical QLD council
+0.8%
A year, last 10 years
Why it matters. Steady growth is enough to keep demand ahead of supply, as long as building stays sensible.
Where the growth came from · last 3 years
Overseas arrivals are doing the heavy lifting in Townsville: 4,503 in three years
Net change: +8,566 people over three years.
What this shows. Three ways a place gains or loses people: babies born minus people who died, people who moved here from another part of Australia, and people who arrived from overseas. Bars to the right add people, bars to the left take them away.
Why it matters. Overseas arrivals usually rent first, so this kind of growth shows up in rents before it shows up in prices.
Age and households · Census 2021
Townsville is younger than the typical QLD council: median age 36 vs 40
Townsville Typical QLD council (middle of 52)
Why it matters. A younger area means first-home buyers, growing families and renters. Three-bedroom houses near schools and jobs are the bread and butter.
Income and who owns the homes · Census 2021
Townsville is a renters' market: 37% of homes are rented, vs 31% in the typical QLD council
Own or paying off Renting Other
Why it matters. Lots of renters means a deep tenant pool if you are buying to hold, and more investor competition when stock is tight.
New supply
What's being approved to build.
1,151 dwellings were approved in FY26, 1,009 of them houses. Approvals are clearly trending up, so more supply is coming. Whether that's a problem depends on whether the population keeps outrunning it. On the non-residential side, $499 million of building was approved in FY26, $223 million of it public money. Governments build where they expect people. Within that, $200 million of education and health buildings have been approved across the last three financial years. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal governments give about where they expect families.
Homes approved · ABS, by financial year
Not much new is being built in Townsville: 1,151 homes approved in FY26
Houses Units, townhouses and other
1,151
Homes approved, FY26
88%
Of them houses
1.4%
New homes per 100 that exist
What this shows. How many new homes the council approved each financial year, split into houses and everything else. Approved is not built, but it is the earliest warning of supply on the way.
Why it matters. When little gets built, the homes already here do not have much competition. Good for prices, as long as people keep arriving.
Non-residential building approved · ABS
Government spending on buildings in Townsville is rising: $223m approved in FY26
Government projects All non-residential
$499m
All sectors, FY26
$223m
Government, FY26
$200m
Schools and health, last 3 years
What this shows. The dollar value of shops, offices, schools, hospitals and other non-home buildings approved each year. The darker bar is the government's share.
Why it matters. Governments build where they expect people. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal they give about where families are heading. For the named projects behind these numbers, ask for the full report.
Jobs
Who's working in Townsville.
Work here runs on health care and social assistance (18% of jobs), ahead of public administration and education and training. 7,425 more residents are in work than five years ago (+8.0%). Unemployment tracks close to the national average at 5.1%.
Jobs · SALM, March 2026
7,425 more people in Townsville have a job than five years ago
100,548
Residents in work
5.1% vs 4.2%
Unemployed · Australia
+8.0%
Jobs change, 5 years
Townsville Australia
Why it matters. Strong jobs growth shows up in housing demand with a lag. People get the job first and buy the house a year or two later.
Who employs people here · Census 2021
Health care and social assistance is the biggest employer in Townsville, 18% of jobs
What this shows. The five industries that employ the most residents, as a share of all jobs. The pill is the ABS advantage score: Townsville sits in decile 7 of 10 nationally, where 10 is the most advantaged.
Why it matters. A spread of employers means no single closure can empty the town. That is the kind of job base that holds house prices through a downturn.
The outlook
Is Townsville worth buying into?
Put the drivers together and the case for Townsville is: a population that keeps growing, net internal migration in its favour, a job base that has expanded. None of this guarantees anything. It tells you where to look harder, which is what a report like this is for.
Free · Written by hand · One per person
This page is the public data. The full report is that written up as a document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Townsville. One per person.
Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.
Inside the LGA
The suburbs of Townsville.
We hold live snapshot data for 7 suburbs in Townsville. Click through for the full numbers.
| Suburb | Typical price | Rent/wk | Gross yield | 1yr growth | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Louisa | $758,436 | $587 | 4.0% | +16% | REA · Domain |
| Garbutt | $687,245 | $576 | 4.4% | +19% | REA · Domain |
| Pimlico | $684,570 | $565 | 4.3% | +15% | REA · Domain |
| Aitkenvale | $680,216 | $549 | 4.2% | +17% | REA · Domain |
| Thuringowa Central | $675,035 | $551 | 4.2% | +17% | REA · Domain |
| Mundingburra | $674,574 | $572 | 4.4% | +13% | REA · Domain |
| Heatley | $654,485 | $545 | 4.3% | +20% | REA · Domain |
Next step. See what's for sale in Mount Louisa on realestate.com.au or Domain. Then send me the address before you make an offer. That is the part the data cannot do.
All 90 suburbs and localities in Townsville
Aitkenvale · Alice River · Alligator Creek · Annandale · Arcadia · Balgal Beach · Barringha · Beach Holm · Belgian Gardens · Black River · Bluewater · Bluewater Park · Bohle · Bohle Plains · Brookhill · Burdell · Bushland Beach · Calcium · Cape Cleveland · Castle Hill · Clemant · Cluden · Condon · Cosgrove · Cranbrook · Crystal Creek · Cungulla · Currajong · Deeragun · Douglas · Florence Bay · Garbutt · Granite Vale · Gulliver · Gumlow · Heatley · Hermit Park · Horseshoe Bay · Hyde Park · Idalia · Jensen · Julago · Kelso · Kirwan · Lynam · Majors Creek · Mount Elliot · Mount Louisa · Mount Low · Mount St John · Mount Stuart · Mundingburra · Murray · Mutarnee · Mysterton · Nelly Bay · Nome · North Ward · Oak Valley · Oonoonba · Pallarenda · Paluma · Picnic Bay · Pimlico · Pinnacles · Railway Estate · Rangewood · Rasmussen · Rollingstone · Roseneath · Ross River · Rosslea · Rowes Bay · Saunders Beach · Shaw · Shelly Beach · South Townsville · Stuart · Thuringowa Central · Toolakea · Toomulla · Toonpan · Town Common · Townsville City · Vincent · West End · West Point · Woodstock · Wulguru · Yabulu
Free · Written by hand · One per person
Want the full workup on Townsville?
This page is the public data. The full report is the written workup: current price, rent, gross yield and vacancy, growth over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years, days on market and demand, and the supply coming down the pipe, for Townsville or any suburb in it. Same data we run for clients. I pull it and email it through, usually within a business day. One per person, no charge, and no 14-part email sequence afterwards. All I ask is that if it lands, you take the fifteen minute call at the end of it.
Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.
Keep comparing
Markets of a similar size in QLD.
A council only makes sense in context. These are the QLD markets closest to Townsville in population, each with its own written report.
General information only, not financial or investment advice. Cycle positions and projections are modelled LGA-level figures to July 2026, sourced from HtAG Analytics. Population and approvals are ABS estimates; employment is SALM smoothed data; income, age and tenure are Census 2021. None of it can see street quality, flood maps, zoning or the contract, which is where deals are actually won and lost. Get advice on your own situation before acting.
Data finds the area. It doesn't buy the house.
We narrow 15,000 suburbs to the top 5 for each client, then find the street and the property. If Townsville is on your list, that's a conversation worth having early.