HOW RISING RENTS ARE RESHAPING INVESTMENT DECISIONS IN SE QUEENSLAND

If you’ve tried to rent, lease or invest anywhere near Brisbane lately, you’ll know the story: demand is relentless, supply is thin, and tenants are moving faster than agents can list. For investors, this moment is both a challenge and an opportunity — the kind that separates those who plan from those who react.

The state of play

Vacancy rates across Queensland remain among the lowest in the country. The REIQ calls it “tight but stable”, sitting between 0 and 2.5 percent in most regions. In Brisbane, unit rents are up 7 percent year-on-year and house rents around 5 percent, according to NAB’s latest insights. Gross yields are holding near 3.6 percent for houses and 4.8 percent for units.

So yes, the rental squeeze is real — but so is investor confidence.

What’s driving the shift

• Population growth and migration. Brisbane continues to pull new residents from interstate and overseas. Every new arrival needs a roof.

• Limited new supply. Approvals are down, build costs are high, and many projects are on hold.

• Lifestyle migration. Coastal and inner-city areas remain magnets for professionals seeking walkability and liveability.

Together, these forces are keeping the rental market tight and yields healthy — for now.

How investors are adapting

1. Prioritising liveability over postcode prestige

Buyers are expanding their search to middle-ring and infrastructure-rich suburbs. The logic: slightly less glamour, far better yield.

2. Favouring units and townhouses

With entry prices lower and tenant demand high, well-located apartments are outperforming detached houses in yield terms.

3. Stress-testing the numbers

Investors are running scenarios on rising rates, short vacancies and maintenance costs. Cash flow resilience is becoming the new bragging right.

4. Diversifying within SEQ

Mixing property types and locations — say, a city-fringe apartment plus a townhouse near new transport projects — is helping to smooth returns.

Suburbs to watch

While yields move constantly, some areas keep popping up in the data and our day-to-day work:

• Spring Hill + Fortitude Valley — consistent tenant demand, strong yields, easy access to the CBD.

• Woolloongabba + Dutton Park — boosted by hospital precinct growth and the Cross River Rail.

• Chermside + Stafford — affordable, well-connected, and quietly maturing.

• Ipswich + Logan corridors — infrastructure spending and population growth underpin long-term upside.

Risks worth naming

Interest-rate shifts, construction delays, and changing tenancy laws can all impact returns. And while rents are still rising, tenant affordability has limits. Yields that look rosy on paper can fade fast if costs climb or vacancies stretch.

The takeaway

Rising rents are rewriting the investment playbook in SE Queensland. The best outcomes will go to those who combine data with local instinct — people who understand not just what the numbers say, but what makes tenants fall in love with a place.

If you’re weighing your next move, Ethel + Florence can help you read the signals, run the numbers, and find the right fit for your strategy.

Let’s talk.