Whitsunday 4800 Property Market Update 2nd Half of 2023
In Q2 2023, Whitsundays (postcode 4800) recorded a median house price of $610,000, and a median unit price of $113,000. This is an annual (Q2 2022 – Q2 2023) growth of 19% for houses and 37.8%% for units. On a quarterly (Q1-Q2 2023) basis median prices grew further, by 25.8% for houses and 13.0% for units. Total sales decreased between Q2 2022 – Q2 2023, by -10% to 54 sales for houses and by -15.8% for units to 16 sales. This suggests a market undersupply, as prices grew whilst sales slowed, and have created a buffer against cash rates hikes. This creates an opportunity for those wishing to sell.
Average vendor discounts between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023 have widened to a discount of -5.0% for houses and slightly tightened to -3.4% for units. Whitsundays market conditions remains in favour buyers, as vendors are willing to accept below the initial listing price.
House rental yields in Whitsunday (postcode 4800) was 4.3% in June 2023, which was lower than the Queensland North Coast average (6.2%). That said median house rental price increased by 15.8% in the past 12 months to Q2 2023, to $550 per week, and the number of houses rented remained relatively stable (28 houses). The unit market saw the same pattern, with median rental price increasing by 26.0% (to $330 per week). This suggests a resilient and highly demanded market.
2-bedroom houses have provided investors with +23.3% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $370 per week.
Whitsunday (postcode 4800) recorded a vacancy rate of 1.5% in June 2023, =slightly above QLD North’s 1.1% average. Vacancy rates in Whitsunday have increased steadily in the past 12 months, due to investors coming back into the market. However, it is still below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy 3.0% benchmark, thus quicker rental occupancy. This suggests a conducive environment for investors, despite the increase in median sale prices in the past 12 months.
