House buying leads the market
Owner-occupier house purchases have been growing strongly in Toowoomba, with new lending data from Commonwealth Bank showing strong double-digit growth over the most recent financial year.
The data shows owner-occupier house purchases increased 18% from FY25 to FY26, ahead of the 15% increase in overall owner-occupier purchases.
House purchases also far outpaced apartment purchases in the city, with the latter growing just 2% over the same period.
Rebecca Markwell, General Manager Home Buying at Commonwealth Bank, said Toowoomba’s recent owner-occupier growth had been distinctly house-led.
“House purchasing grew faster than the market overall, suggesting detached homes have been an important part of the momentum we’re seeing locally,” she said.
“Toowoomba is a good example of why the local mix of housing matters. What buyers are purchasing can vary significantly from one community to the next, so understanding those local patterns is an important consideration when thinking about the type and location of new housing supply.”
Young buyers active across Queensland
Broadly across Queensland, young buyers have been increasingly active in recent years, with owner-occupier purchases by 20–29-year-olds up 67% between FY21 and FY26, compared with a 46% increase nationally.
Markwell said one of the most interesting shifts in Queensland was the growing role of buyers purchasing properties in outer-metro and regional areas beyond traditional population centres.
“This points to a home buying market that is opening to a broader mix of buyers across more parts of the state,” she said.
“Houses also account for a larger share of owner-occupier purchases in Queensland than they do nationally. Together, these trends suggest many buyers are looking further afield in search of affordable detached housing, which highlights the importance of delivering the right housing in the right locations to meet growing demand.”
Affordability and lifestyle draw buyers
Local Toowoomba real estate agent Jacqui Walker said she believed confidence was returning to the Toowoomba property market, driven by affordability, lifestyle factors and a robust economy.
Walker, the director of Jacqui Walker Sells, said a recent bidding war over a property she was selling, along with bigger turnouts at open inspections, were firm signals that sentiment had turned positive.
“I can see from the amount of people attending open homes that we do have a lot more confidence within the marketplace at the moment, and the results from the weekend are definitely showing that,” Walker said.
She said there were a number of factors working in Toowoomba’s favour, including the increase in people working from home two to three days per week who could commute to Brisbane on other days.
“It’s still cheaper to buy a home in regional Toowoomba than it is Brisbane, and you know, with people being able to work from home two to three days a week and only have to go to the office maybe two days a week in Brisbane, it’s viable for owner-occupiers,” she said.
“Also, it’s such a beautiful town to live in with all the schools, the parks, the university. We’ve got a huge amount of really top-quality private schools and top-quality state schools, as well as the university here and magnificent parks, and of course the garden city itself.”
Walker said the new hospital being built was also a huge plus for the city.
The Queensland Government’s website says the vision for the 75-hectare Baillie Henderson Hospital campus was for a “world-class health and knowledge precinct experience, centred around the new Toowoomba Hospital”.
A popular relocation destination
Separate research published by Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute found Toowoomba is among the most popular relocation destinations, regularly attracting movers from both capital cities and regional areas.
Toowoomba Mayor Geoff McDonald said the city remained affordable, with the median house price 44% below Brisbane’s and the median unit price 28% lower.
He said there were plenty of well-paid jobs in the area which, combined with lower housing prices, made it a compelling place to buy.
This article is part of The Home Front series supported by Commonwealth Bank and was first published by The Courier Mail.
