Northern Beaches Market Update 1 st H a l f 2 0 2 6
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
OVERVIEW
In Q1 2026, Northern Beaches* recorded a median house price of $715,000 and a median unit price of $355,000. This represents an annual (Q1 2025 –Q1 2026) median price growth of 13.5% for houses and a slight softening of -3.4% for units. Comparing Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, house sales declined by -26.1% (to 190 sold in Q1 2026), confirming an undersupplied house market. Mackay’s population is forecasted to grow by 31,000 in 2046, with a demand for 357–539 new detached houses annually. That said, there are no new detached house projects in 2026, and a low (126) number of building approvals in Q1 2026. Thus, the housing undersupply is expected to continue, resulting in more house price growth.
CHANGE FROM LAST
YEAR
Mackay Local Council will see approx. $1.0B of new projects commencing construction in 2026. Commercial Residential $63.8M $41.7M Industrial $104.7M
HALF YEAR
Mixed-Use $462.8M
HOUSE SALE S
Infrastructure $358.6M
HOUSE ME DIAN PRICE HOUSE RE NTAL PRICE A key mixed-use project is Bluewater Quary Residences Mackay ($30.0M), delivering a 2x10 – storey residential towers with 60 units and 4 retail.
UNIT SALE S UNIT ME DIAN PRICE
New housing stock that is planned to commence construction in 2026 are:
UNIT RE NTAL PRICE
$
$715K
$355K
MEDIAN PRICE Q1 2026
$695
SALES
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET Q1 2026
25
48
HOUSE
U N I T
RENTALS
$595
Bluewater Quay (60 units)
•
Glenrownan Estate Residential (101 vacant land lots)
Although a few projects are planned in 2026, they are units, townhouses and residential lots, without any new detached houses in the pipeline.
MARKET CONDITIONS MEDIAN PRICE Q1 2026
•
This is unlikely to meet the current demand, particularly given the 1,025 house sales recorded in 2025. Further, vacant land will take time to develop (into a house/townhouse) and there were only 126 building approvals in Q1 2026. Thus, the existing undersupply will remain, pushing up prices further.
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET Q1 2026
24
25
HOUSE
U N I T
127 Units/ Apartments
750 Lots
17 Townhouses