Community & Business
24 June, 2025
Local area a haven for property investors
A new report lists the Clifton - Greenmount area as the second best in Queensland for residential property investors.
The Clifton - Greenmount area includes Nobby and East Greenmount.
The Regional Movers and Investor Hotspots 2025 report by MCG Quantity Surveyors highlights regional investment opportunities by analysing migration and property data, amid an urban exodus across Australia.
Clifton – Greenmount has a median house price of $455,000, a gross rental yield of 5.1 per cent and a 12 month rent growth of 4.7 cent, giving it an MCG investor score of 80.
The MCG Investor Score is a composite index reflecting yield, affordability, sales and rental turnover, market liquidity and local demographic strength.
The only place in Queensland with a higher score is Millmerran, which scored 81.
Nine of the top eleven investor scores were in the Darling Downs, including Cambooya - Wyreema in seventh place with a score of 71.
The PropTrack Home Price Index for May 2025 shows the median property price for regional Queensland has reached a new peak of $733,000.
This represents an annual growth of 8.66 per cent and a growth of over 80 per cent over the last five years.
The Clifton housing market has shown excellent growth over the last four years with some properties almost doubling in just over two years.
Ian Brady from Nutrien Harcourts Real Estate in Clifton said if properties are listed at market value then enquiries start coming in straight away.
While property prices were up and down in the years 2017 to 2021, since then prices have grown year after year.
Mr Brady gave an example of a property at 31 Victoria Street Clifton that was bought for $210,000 in October 2021 sold for $385,000 in December 2024.
A property bought for $150,000 at 29 John Street, Clifton in 2021 sold for $430,000 in 2025.
Mr Brady said unit prices in Clifton are also holding up well with 2/10 Belfords Street, a 2 bedroom unit bought for $275,00 in 2023 selling for $355,000 in May 2025.
All these properties had little to no capital improvements completed.
Eleanor Creagh, REA Group Senior Economist said lower interest rates have lifted borrowing capacities and boosted buyer demand.
“And with further price increases and rate cuts expected, prospective buyers are moving off the sidelines and accelerating their purchasing decisions,” she said.
“Looking ahead, while stretched affordability will remain a constraint, a chronic lack of new housing supply, population growth, and targeted buyer incentives are expected to keep upward pressure on prices.”
Jules Coutts from Webster Cavanagh Real Estate in Clifton was also very optimistic regarding Clifton as a place to invest.
She has recently listed a set of half acre blocks on the south side of town, on Catherine Street, and was pleased to say they sold within a few weeks.
Ms Coutts said enquiries began as soon as they were listed and young buyers were especially interested in the blocks selling for $200,000.
Also to come on the market are forty blocks of land on the north side of Clifton and Ms Coutts was equally optimistic they would sell quickly.
She felt that many buyers were sitting watching the market in both Clifton and Allora waiting for the right property to be listed.
Buyers target Clifton - Greenmount because properties prices are generally lower than Toowoomba or Allora and Clifton is seen as a town without the high crime rates of larger centres but still a short drive to Toowoomba and Brisbane.
Mike Mortlock of MCG Quantity Surveyors and report author said Australians were beginning to look beyond the capital cities for property investment opportunities.
“Regional areas are not only offering better affordability but also promising rental yields and lifestyle benefits that are attracting a diverse range of buyers,” he said.
Obviously the fact that Clifton is seen as an excellent place to invest is good for the town and the sale of blocks of land is especially of interest in attracting young first home buyers.
While the Sunshine Coast remains the State’s dominant growth corridor and the most popular regional destination nationally (35%), Toowoomba (6%) attracts a healthy share of the state’s net migration and Clifton will ultimately benefit.
Despite the overall positive trend in the local real estate market, there has been some decline.
The latest data from PropTrack shows rents in some places of Queensland have had decreases.
In Cambooya, units are now renting at an average of $330 a week, down 18 per cent over the prior quarter.
