Townsville dominated Queensland’s auction market in the first weekend of June, with 21 bidders across just two properties: including the state’s most-viewed home up for auction and a mortgagee sale with 16 registered bidders.
The positive sales came despite a 30 per cent clearance rate across all of Queensland, with only 45 homes sold at auction.
This is Queensland’s lowest clearance rate this year for the third week in a row, tied with the past two weeks.
The derelict home at 49 Mount Louisa Dr, Mount Louisa, was one of two massive Townsville auctions during a poor clearance rate week for Queensland.
The abandoned home at 49 Mount Louisa Dr, Mount Louisa, gathered 16 registered bidders and eight active bidders for a furious auction that was over in just minutes.
Harcourts Kingsberry Townsville agent Adrian Raiteri, who acted as auctioneer for the home, said the three-bedroom one-bathroom property was “uninhabitable” in its current state.
“The bones were good, but the property was in need of dire renovation,” he said. “Based on its condition, it had suffered from years and years of neglect – stuff like that doesn’t happen overnight.”
The home was described as neglected and uninhabitable, and required a serious renovation to be able to be lived in.
A crowd of local renovators and first-home buyers attended the auction, which began at a starting bid of $280,000.
Only a moment had passed before the home was on the market at $430,000, and suddenly the home had sold under the hammer for $440,000.
Mr Raiteri said the only reason more bidders were not active was because the auction had moved too fast.
“The price was just going above people’s expectations,” he said. “3 bids came up at the same time – people were there to buy and they were there to leave.”
A whopping 16 registered bidders attended the weekend auction, with eight bidders active for a bidding war that was over in minutes.
The property sold under the hammer for $440,000, going to an investor from South-East Queensland.
Despite the crowd of local buyers, a South-East Queensland investor who was bidding over the phone ended up taking the property.
Mr Raiteri said the winning buyer would likely lift the property back up into a good condition before deciding if they would rent out or sell the home.
Meanwhile, the three-bedroom two-bathroom house at 99 The Strand, North Ward, was the most-viewed property across for Queensland up for auction that weekend.
A developer had bought the property and the two others next door in 2025, but had decided to sell each of them over the 9 months since he had bought it.
The corner block at 99 The Strand, North Ward, was the most-viewed home going to auction over the weekend across Queensland.
The property at 99 The Strand was the last to sell, sitting directly across the road from the beach on a 670 sqm corner block.
Mr Raiteri was leading agent on the property, and said more than a hundred people gathered on the Saturday morning to see the home sell.
“For a house to come up for auction on The Strand, it’s obviously very rare,” he said. “An Ingham family had owned those properties for 50 years … that’s as blue-chip real estate as Townsville comes.”
More than a hundred people gathered to see the beachside property go to auction, with five registered bidders and two active bidders fighting to grab it.
After a quick rise from $1.8m to $2.1m, the home went to negotiation and sold to a local investor for $2.4m.
Five registered bidders and two active bidders attended the event. Offers began at $1.8m, with the home quickly going on the market at $2.1m.
After a short round of negotiations with the highest bidder, the home went on the market and sold under the hammer for $2.4m.
Mr Raiteri said the home had sold to a local developer, who was still considering their options for how they would transform the beachside location.
Despite positive auction results in areas like Townsville, Queensland saw the lowest clearance rates since ex-cyclone Alfred for the third week in a row. Picture: Mark Fitz.
Preliminary PropTrack data found the week’s clearance rate was the lowest since Queensland was hit by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred on March 9, 2025.
Across 195 available auction results, 45 homes were sold at auction, 11 prior and three after, with 136 homes either withdrawn or passed in.
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said the low clearance rates in Queensland were likely due to high inflation, cost of living pressures and investor caution following announced changes to the federal budget.
“While a single weekend’s result should not be viewed in isolation, it aligns with a broader softening in buyer demand that has emerged in recent months,” she said.
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said areas like Townsville and other affordable pockets could outperform in the current market.
“On the flip side, many of Queensland’s more affordable areas, including pockets of Brisbane and regional markets, are continuing to outperform.”
Mr Raiteri said Townsville was well-positioned to see further growth from buyers looking for a home outside of Brisbane.
“I think we’re going to find more people shifting away from city areas and looking over to Townsville, which is still a very affordable market,” he said.
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