Townsville is the kind of market most southern investors ignore until the cycle is half-finished. The numbers are published and easy to check. Vacancy runs from 0.71% to 1.47%. Rasmussen has averaged 19.71% growth a year over five years. Defence, mining services and the CopperString transmission line anchor the next decade. The five suburbs below sit in four different postcodes. The vacancy reading that applies to one does not apply to the next.
Regional QLD has run, no question. But Townsville has a population of about 206,300 and Lavarack Barracks, the largest army base in Australia. Add James Cook University, the Port of Townsville expansion and CopperString, a $3.2B state commitment with the Eastern Link due by 2032. That mix gives the market more legs than a single-industry town.
Below are five suburbs across different price points and strategies. Medians are CoreLogic via Your Investment Property to 30 June 2026, with rents to 31 August 2026. For the broader picture on our approach here, see our Townsville buyers agent page.
How we picked these suburbs
We used five filters. Prices run from $590,000 to $945,000, gross yield sits above 3.3% and vacancy is under 1.5%. On top of that, each suburb had to sit near at least one major employment node (defence, health, university, mining services or port). It also needed established houses on decent blocks. No new estates, no high-density unit oversupply pockets. For the reasoning on why we weight both growth and yield rather than chasing one, see capital growth vs rental yield.
Kirwan
Median house price: $655,000 Gross rental yield (houses): 4.59% Median weekly rent: $578 12-month growth: +16.96% Average annual growth, 5 years: +14.76% Sales, 12 months: 417 Days on market: 16 Vacancy, postcode 4817: 0.71% in August, from 0.70% in March
Kirwan is the biggest residential suburb in Townsville and the anchor of the Thuringowa corridor. It sits about 12km south-west of the CBD, close to Lavarack Barracks and the Willows shopping centre. The Ring Road, also close by, connects most major employment nodes.
The housing stock suits investors. Expect brick veneer and block homes on 600-800sqm lots, most built from the 1970s to the 1990s, with plenty of cosmetic reno potential. The tenant pool is a mix of defence families, healthcare workers and Thuringowa trade workers. Low turnover is the norm.
Kirwan is the deepest of the five suburbs here. It recorded 417 sales in the year, at 16 days on market. Vacancy in postcode 4817 is the tightest of the four postcodes in this guide at 0.71%, level with 0.70% in March. At $655,000 with a computed 4.59% yield, the cash flow works. Average growth of 14.76% a year over five years is why this suburb keeps appearing on shortlists.
Rasmussen
Median house price: $590,000 Gross rental yield (houses): 4.85% Median weekly rent: $550 12-month growth: +18.00% Average annual growth, 5 years: +19.71% Sales, 12 months: 113 Days on market: 18 Vacancy, postcode 4815: 1.47% in August, from 1.23% in March
Rasmussen sits further south-west in the Thuringowa corridor, about 14km from the CBD. It has historically been cheaper than Kirwan and Kelso, and that gap has been closing over the past five years. Average growth of 19.71% a year is the strongest of the five suburbs here.
The median is $590,000, the lowest of the five. The computed yield of 4.85% is the highest. Rasmussen has a decent mix of older three and four-bedroom homes on 700-900sqm blocks. The bigger lots also have granny flat potential. That is a real lever for investors who want to push the yield up further once they’ve settled.
Volume is thinner here. Its 113 sales in the year were the second-smallest of the five, behind North Ward.
The risk with Rasmussen is flooding. Some streets are closer to flood-affected areas than others. Buying here without verifying the flood overlay on the specific property is a mistake. Do the work on council maps before you put pen to paper.
Kelso
Median house price: $600,000 Gross rental yield (houses): 4.77% Median weekly rent: $550 12-month growth: +20.00% Average annual growth, 5 years: +18.15% Sales, 12 months: 256 Days on market: 18 Vacancy, postcode 4815: 1.47% in August, from 1.23% in March
Kelso neighbours Rasmussen and Kirwan. It functions as the middle-tier option in the Thuringowa corridor. The stock is slightly newer on average. That means less cosmetic reno upside than Kirwan, but also fewer maintenance surprises. Tenants here are typically young families and defence personnel on postings.
Access is Kelso’s main advantage. The Ring Road puts Lavarack, the Townsville University Hospital, James Cook University and the CBD all within about half an hour’s drive. That kind of employment catchment is what keeps vacancy tight when rents are under pressure.
At $600,000 with a computed 4.77% yield, Kelso is second of the five on yield. It is also second on twelve-month growth at 20.00% and on average annual growth at 18.15%. The catch is the rental market. Postcode 4815 loosened from 1.23% in March to 1.47% in August, the highest reading of the four postcodes in this guide.
Mount Louisa
Median house price: $700,000 Gross rental yield (houses): 4.53% Median weekly rent: $610 12-month growth: +14.75% Average annual growth, 5 years: +13.45% Sales, 12 months: 191 Days on market: 12 Vacancy, postcode 4814: 1.06% in August, from 1.05% in March
Mount Louisa is a slightly more premium option. It sits just north of Kirwan, roughly 9km from the CBD, between Garbutt and Bohle. The Stockland Townsville shopping centre is a short drive away. Its housing mix is more upmarket than Kirwan or Kelso. Some sections offer views across the city and Magnetic Island.
The rental profile skews toward professional couples and smaller families. That tends to mean lower turnover and fewer vacancy gaps. Rents at $610 per week are the second-highest of the five suburbs here, behind North Ward at $620. Depth is mid-pack, with 191 sales in the year, third of the five.
Yield here is not the attraction. At 4.53% it is the second-weakest of the five, ahead of only North Ward. Twelve-month growth of 14.75% is the weakest of the five. Vacancy in postcode 4814 held level. It read 1.05% in March and 1.06% in August, the second-tightest of the four here. Mount Louisa is a suburb where you pay for location and stock quality and hope the growth continues to compound. If you are building a mixed portfolio across Townsville, Mount Louisa balances out the cheaper Thuringowa suburbs.
North Ward
Median house price: $945,000 Gross rental yield (houses): 3.41% Median weekly rent: $620 12-month growth: +24.34% Average annual growth, 5 years: +5.15% Sales, 12 months: 76 Days on market: 22 Vacancy, postcode 4810: 1.22% in August, from 1.52% in March
North Ward is the premium suburb in this guide. It runs along The Strand, Townsville’s beachfront promenade. It sits a five-minute drive from the CBD.
It is also the trade-off in this guide. The numbers pull in opposite directions. North Ward has the strongest twelve months of the five at +24.34%. It also has the weakest five-year average at +5.15%. Its median is the highest at $945,000, its computed yield the weakest at 3.41% and its sales count the smallest at 76. One strong year sits on top of a weak five. It comes at the thinnest volume and the lowest rental income against price.
What you do with that depends on what you are buying for. An investor who wants the beachfront position and can carry a 3.41% yield has a case. An investor relying on the last twelve months to repeat is relying on a run the five-year record does not support.
Check the flood and storm-surge overlay on each specific block, because the proximity to the water cuts both ways.
Townsville market context in one paragraph
Townsville house values have moved hard. Average annual growth over five years runs from 5.15% in North Ward to 19.71% in Rasmussen. Compounded, Rasmussen’s rate more than doubles a value over five years. Kirwan’s 14.76% gets to about 99%. Vacancy across the four postcodes here runs from 0.71% to 1.47%, and 4815 is the one that loosened between March and August. Population grew 1.1% in the year to June 2025, anchored by defence, health (Townsville University Hospital), JCU and mining services. CopperString, a $3.2B state commitment with the Eastern Link due by 2032, should make that mining services base bigger. None of this makes the growth easy to repeat, but it explains why rents have kept climbing. For the broader context, see our regional property markets guide.
What to avoid in Townsville
Cyclone insurance is the first line item most southern investors underestimate. Premiums in Townsville are materially higher than Brisbane or the southern states. Budget for it before you commit. Our investment property insurance guide walks through what to expect.
Flood overlays are the second issue. Parts of the Ross River catchment, particularly around Rasmussen, Condon and some Kelso streets, sit in flood-prone areas. A property two streets over can be a completely different risk profile. Pull the council flood maps on every address before you sign a contract.
Reliance on one industry is worth thinking about, but Townsville’s economy is more spread out than most regional centres’. If mining services soften, defence and health jobs should keep supporting rental demand, though they won’t fully replace mining work.
The unit market in Townsville is thin. New stock in inner-ring complexes has at times created oversupply pockets. Stick to established units in smaller complexes, not new off-the-plan builds. Check the body corporate fees and sinking fund before you commit. Our body corporate fees guide covers what to look for. For the general case on choosing between houses and units, see house or unit for investment.
Finally, do not buy an outer acreage block and call it a “Townsville investment”. The data in this guide is about established residential stock on standard lots, close to employment. Lifestyle acreage is a different product with a different tenant pool.
Townsville is late in the run: what that means
Townsville is late in the current run. The story may have further to go, but the margin for error is smaller. The suburbs in this guide all still have yield and employment fundamentals on their side. If you buy in Townsville today, the specific house, block and price matter more than the postcode.
Our case studies show the specific properties we have bought for clients.
This is general information only and not financial advice. Speak to a qualified professional before making investment decisions.
See how we buy high-yield properties in regional markets.
If you want to invest in Townsville but want the property selection, negotiation and due diligence done for you, book a free discovery call.
Data sources. Median price, twelve-month growth, average annual growth, sales volume and days on market are CoreLogic via Your Investment Property, to 30 June 2026. Weekly rents are to 31 August 2026. Every yield on this page is computed by us as weekly rent times 52 divided by the median. We do not use the published yield column, because it draws the rent and the median from different months and so does not reconcile against the prices shown. Vacancy rates are SQM Research by postcode, August 2026, with the March 2026 reading shown alongside. Population is ABS estimated resident population for the Townsville LGA at 30 June 2025 (206,260, up from 203,972 a year earlier). Kirwan’s size is from the 2021 Census (20,780 residents). Lavarack Barracks as Australia’s largest army base is from Invest Townsville. CopperString funding is from the Queensland Government statement of 10 June 2026. All figures pulled 26 September 2026.
