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News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Revealed: Qld suburbs where home prices have doubled
Home prices in about 300 Queensland house or unit markets have more than doubled over the past five years, with new analysis showing the Covid boom's enduring impact across the state. The pandemic's shot-in-the-arm effect on the real estate market was most pronounced in the regions, led by Monto in Wide Bay where house prices were up a staggering 260 per cent since 2020. PropTrack's Market Trends report shows the Logan-Beaudesert and Ipswich regions were other 'Long Covid' winners. A typical unit in North Booval is still relatively affordable at $495,000 – but has tripled in value in half a decade. house in Logan Central now costs $681,500, up 140 per cent over the same period, according to the data. Central Queensland areas including Gladstone also notched near-triple gains, along with hotspots on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Cairns where prices were up more than 135 per cent. Closer to the city, Brisbane's big boom winners included Moggill in the western suburbs, where house prices more than doubled to sit at $1.22m, and Red Hill, up 116 per cent to $1.875m. PropTrack economist Angus Moore said low interest rates during the pandemic drove rapid house price growth around the country. 'Queensland has also benefited from strong interstate migration, as well as relative affordability coming into the pandemic. However, the latter driver is much less true today given how rapidly home prices have grown since 2020,' Mr Moore said. The 'unusually strong growth' of recent years — 2021 was the third-fastest year for price growth nationally in 150 years — was 'not going to be repeated soon'. 'The big factor for home prices over the rest of this year and into next is what happens to interest rates. Housing affordability is at very stretched levels, but falling mortgage rates will start to reduce mortgage and boost borrowing capacities, which will support home prices. 'But how much further and how fast the RBA decide to cut is uncertain, given how rapidly the global outlook is changing,' Mr Moore said. Ipswich agent Jordan Strudwick, of STRUD Property, said homeowners could expect an uplift of 15 to 20 per cent by the end of 2026. 'With the Olympic Games coming to Queensland, we're entering a once-in-a-generation window of opportunity. 'Infrastructure, population, and investment are set to surge and that means real estate in SEQ is set for massive growth,' Mr Strudwick said. Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella said the state's strong post-pandemic performance was driven by 'lifestyle preferences, affordability pressures, and the appeal of Queensland's decentralised population centres'. 'The appeal of Queensland is not just limited to our capital city, with more and more people looking to experience life beyond the big smoke,' Ms Mercorella said. 'The fact your dollar goes further in Queensland, particularly in the regions, is a key driver but it's not the only one. There's more space, less traffic, more sunshine, and a better work-life balance and people are seeking that out.' Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population data shows Queensland gained 29,900 people in the 12 months to December 2024, including 18,000 from NSW. In the final quarter of 2024 alone, regional Queensland welcomed 4,317 new residents from interstate, the strongest result in a year, while Brisbane recorded 3,285. The best new architecture in Qld Buyers agent Simon Pressley, of Propertyology, said Queensland's coastal regions had emerged among 'the most hotly contested real estate in Australia', boosted by the pandemic's influx of interstate migrants as people moved away from high-density capital cities. Mr Pressley took an even longer view, examining property price growth over 10 years in areas that also hosted the fastest growing populations. 'There were 53 separate regional cities across the country which produced a capital growth rate that was equal to or better than Australia's best-performed capital city over the last decade,' he said. The luxury holiday hotspot of Noosa was the 10-year winner for growth with a 156 per cent spike in house prices, compared to 96 per cent for Hobart, which topped capital cities. 'The two fastest growing regions in the country, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, were also hot property,' Mr Pressley said, adding home values in those Queensland centres were up 114 and 118 per cent respectively in the 10 years ending 2024. PropTrack's data shows median home prices across Greater Brisbane tipped $1m for the first time last month, reflecting the wider backdrop of sustained growth across the state underscoring a crisis of affordability as supply failed to keep pace with demand. On the flipside, only a handful of suburbs recorded price falls since 2020. The report shows units in Brassall, Ipswich, were now selling for 30 per cent less, at $156,550. Another five suburbs recorded negative growth — all were in the outback with the exception of Rockhampton City units (-18 per cent).
ABC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Court orders owner of alleged illegal tobacconists to close businesses for six months
A Queensland judge has ordered a business owner to close five of his Wide Bay stores which health officials allege have been selling unlawful smoking products. In June, a significant quantity of illicit cigarettes, loose tobacco and vapes were allegedly seized during raids on multiple retail premises in Hervey Bay. Earlier this month, Queensland Health launched court action against the owner of some of the stores, Mohammed Alfalahi, seeking a permanent injunction under strengthened tobacco laws. While that matter is pending, on Wednesday, Queensland Health sought an interim injunction of the same effect. Lawyer Peter O'Connor told the court the order would restrict Mr Alfalahi from engaging in the alleged illegal conduct and receiving income from it unlawfully. "Until such time that the substantive proceedings can be finalised," he said. Mr O'Connor told the court the "fundamental question" was whether any of Mr Alfalahi's businesses held a licence to supply smoking products. "There's no assertion by [Mr Alfalahi] that in fact he has or did in fact at any stage," he said. "The evidence, in fact, establishes that he has not ever held such a license." Mr O'Connor told the court, Mr Alfalahi is the tenant of the business premise, and the permitted use according to his lease is a tobacconist or tobacco shop. "He can't claim ignorance of the nature of business operating out of the premises that he is leasing," he said "He similarly cannot claim ignorance of the regulatory scheme given the number of interactions that he has had with the authorities over a substantial period of time." The court heard he had previously paid infringement notices for past contraventions under the legislation. Mr Alfalahi's lawyer James Wallace told the court it had been difficult to get in contact with his client as he lived overseas, and had not been adequately instructed on any possible defence to the allegations. However, Mr Wallace said his client "can't possibly be criticised" for not responding in detail, in what he asserts were inadequate time frames for submitting material, and that this was "not a full hearing on the merits" of the allegations. "I'm not conceding the prima facie case," he said. "I have no evidence to rely on to submit sensibly." It was argued that several employees would lose their jobs if the order was granted and Mr Alfalahi could be at risk of breaching the order due to his limited communication and the impracticality of shutting the stores effective immediately. Mr Wallace argued the balance of convenience should be in favour of his client, as there were separate yet related proceedings due to be heard in the magistrates court later this month. "In theory, in 10 days' time a magistrate will determine whether those five stores should be shut down for six months," he said. "Leaving the status quo would allow the matters to proceed as they are in the magistrates court without pre-emptively finalising the matter." The court heard the magistrate court action and the district court action "complement each other" but they served independent purposes. In the lower court proceedings, Queensland Health is seeking not only closure of the stores for six months, but also enforcement against the landlord to ensure no-one else takes over the lease. Judge Ken Barlow KC granted the interim injunction, accepting there was "no real evidence of substance of any defence". "It seems to me there is no doubt a prima facie case," he said. Judge Barlow KC also rejected the submission Mr Alfalahi could not properly instruct his lawyers. "The communication abilities of the modern world, particularly between Australia and Dubai where [Mr Alfalahi] currently lives, are such that I do not accept that the respondent would not have had the opportunity to be sent the material read and discuss it at length with his solicitors," he said. "While I do not go so far as to infer that there is no possible defence... the absence of any skeleton of any defence does not assist [Mr Alfalahi]." Mr Alfalahi will have until Friday to cease operating the five business. He will also be prohibited from running any other companies which involve the sale of tobacco.
ABC News
26-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
2.5m crocodile found in 'atypical' Mary River habitat to be removed
Queensland wildlife officers are searching for a crocodile seen basking on the bank of the Mary River near Maryborough. The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) received a report on Tuesday of the crocodile being spotted near the town of Dundathu. The person who submitted the report saw a 2.5-metre crocodile on the riverbank before it slid into the river, a DETSI spokesperson said. Wildlife officers inspected the site on Wednesday and are attempting to capture the crocodile. DETSI is asking anyone who sees a crocodile in the Mary River or Wide Bay region to contact them. The sighting follows reports of crocodiles at Inskip Point in February and Bundaberg in January. A 3.8m crocodile was caught on the Mary River near Maryboroug in 2014 and relocated to a crocodile farm in Rockhampton.
ABC News
04-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Timeline of Wide Bay teenager Pheobe Bishop's disappearance
Almost three weeks after Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop went missing, police have taken her male housemate into custody. The 17-year-old girl from the Wide Bay region, about four hours north of Brisbane, has not been seen or heard from since Thursday, May 15. James Wood, 34, was arrested on Wednesday but no charges have been laid. The arrest followed an announcement earlier in the day by police that they would no longer be conducting any "physical searches" for Pheobe. Instead, police said searches would restart "as needed and as information is provided". Pheobe had been living in the town of Gin Gin, which has a population of about 1,100 people, with two people police had called "associates". She had been meant to board a flight from Bundaberg to Western Australia on May 15, but police said airport CCTV showed she never entered the terminal. Police issued a missing person's report about 6pm a day later, on Friday, May 16. Over the following weekend, Pheobe's mother Kylie Johnson repeatedly posted to social media urging anyone with information to contact police. By Sunday, May 18, more than 400 missing person posters with Pheobe's photo were plastered across the Wide Bay region. On Monday, May 19, police conducted a land search along Bundaberg's Airport Drive and surrounding areas but failed to find Pheobe or any of her belongings. Police described her disappearance as out of character and at a media conference on Tuesday, May 20, asked for information about a 2011 grey Hyundai ix35 hatch that had been seen around Airport Drive. On Wednesday, May 21, six days after Pheobe went missing, police said they were treating her disappearance as suspicious and two crime scenes had been established. The crime scenes were the home where Pheobe had been living and the car she was believed to be in on to way to the airport. Police appealed for dash camera and CCTV footage of the car, naming the locations of interest at Bundaberg — Airport Drive and Samuels Road — as well as Gin Gin. By Thursday, May 22, Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson said public information would be vital in finding Pheobe. "People don't vanish," he said. On Friday, May 23, more than a week after her daughter was last heard from, Ms Johnson urged people to hold their loved ones tight. That afternoon, at a press conference, police revealed specialist officers were searching bushland and waterways at Good Night Scrub National Park. The search of the national park continued throughout the weekend of May 24 and 25. On the Saturday, forensic police collected items in brown evidence bags, but would not confirm whether it was linked to Pheobe's disappearance. Police dogs joined the search on the Sunday. On Monday, May 26, police expanded their search area, saying they believed evidence may have been moved from the Good Night Scrub area before they arrived. The same day, Premier David Crisafulli said Pheobe's disappearance was deeply concerning and that police would be given every resource needed to do the job. On Tuesday, May 27, police renewed their appeal for information, and a day later, the search in Good Night Scrub National Park was suspended after five days. Police said they would continue to investigate. This morning, they confirmed physical searches would be called off. Throughout the time Pheobe has been missing, her mother has been posting on social media about the family's ordeal. In a video statement released via police on Saturday, Ms Johnson said her family's life had changed for the worse since her daughter's disappearance. "I still hold hope that Pheobe will come home, but I have to consider the possibility that she also won't," she said. In a social media post this morning, Ms Johnson questioned whether life would be the same again. "Starting day 20 with you still missing Pheobe," the post read. "I don't know if life will ever be the same again? I don't know if I will ever look at the world the same way that I did before May 15th."
ABC News
04-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Man in police custody over disappearance of missing Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop
Queensland police say a man is in custody over the disappearance of Wide Bay teenager Pheobe Bishop. The 17-year-old went missing on May 15 after failing to board a flight at Bundaberg airport. A major search operation was launched amid fears for her safety. A 34-year-old man is currently assisting police with their inquiries, but no charges have been laid.
