Market Pressure Review: Launceston Real Estate in 10 Charts

Launceston Property Market: Tasmania’s Northern Gem

Launceston is one of Australia’s oldest cities, a charming regional city in northern Tasmania, nestling at the meeting point of the Tamar and North Esk rivers. Known for its vibrant food and wine culture, Launceston is a gateway to the scenic Tamar Valley wine region. Natural attractions like Cataract Gorge, the Tamar River, and national parks make the city a haven for nature lovers. The area blends historic charm with modern living, featuring beautifully preserved colonial architecture and a strong community. With a healthy economy, affordable lifestyle, and a balance of urban and rural appeal, Launceston is an attractive destination for homebuyers and investors.

Over the last 12 months, Launceston’s house prices grew by just 0.4%, having not stepped out of the slowdown post-2022. Will the market rebound in the coming year? Join us today to explore the city’s property market conditions and outlook!

As of March 2025, Launceston’s house market pressure is moderate.

Among the six metrics InvestorKit uses to measure market performance, Launceston scores the highest (=5) in rental pressure and incoming supply, 4 in rental yield and affordability, 3 in price pressure and 2 in growth cycle.

Launceston Property Market Demographic & Economic Trends

As can be seen in Chart 2, overseas migrants are the main contributors to Launceston’s population growth. The growth rate was relatively consistent until 2020, when it started to fall. Launceston’s population growth was -0.23% in the 2023-2024 financial year, much lower than that of Tasmania (0.31%) and Hobart (0.37%) because of a drop in internal migrants. The declining trend in net internal migration shows that Launceston is losing its people to other areas and states of Australia.  

Launceston’s slow-growing population could lead to decreased demand for housing over the coming years.

Despite the sluggish population growth, Launceston’s job market is more active. Its unemployment rate has gradually declined from over 5% since late 2013 and has remained relatively stable at around 2.5% since early 2023.

On the other hand, despite a slight drop, the number of job ads remains significantly higher than before the pandemic.

House Prices Launceston: Sales Market Trends

Launceston’s house market has stagnated over the past year. The median house price is $560k, about 0.4% higher than a year ago. Since early 2025, houses have been selling faster, with the median days on market around 33 days.

Over the past 12 months, Launceston’s for-sale house listings have fallen steadily while the sale volume has remained relatively stable, resulting in a drop in inventory to a moderate level of 3.4 months of stock. 

The moderate and declining inventory level and days on market indicate moderate and improving market pressure, suggesting a potential improvement in price growth in the year ahead.

Launceston’s building approval rate has remained low for a decade, indicating a low risk of oversupply in the housing market. In 2025, the region saw a slight uptick in house construction activity, but it’s still much lower than the balanced benchmark of 2%. Launceston’s low building approval rate is a precondition of continued value growth.

Launceston’s house price growth has grown robustly by around 107% over the last decade, in line with the average of the top-populated regional cities. This strong 10-year growth implies that the region might see moderate growth in the medium term.

Launceston Real Estate: Rental Market Trends

Launceston’s rental market is under high and increasing pressure, as seen in its declining and low vacancy rate (around 0.5%). Rents have grown slowly at 2.1% over the last 12 months.

Launceston enjoys a healthy rental yield of 4.7%, slightly above the average of the top-populated cities. Yield has been improving (around 4% higher than the last 12 months) because rental growth is faster than price growth.

Over the past decade, Launceston’s rental prices have grown by 66%, lower than the average growth rate of the top-populated regional cities. 

In the next 6-12 months…

Launceston’s house market pressure is moderate but improving, as seen in declining days on market and decreasing inventory. The rental market pressure is high and continuing to increase, with vacancy rates at crisis levels and still falling. In the coming 6-12 months, we expect Launceston’s house prices to speed up moderately.

Launceston is the 14th regional city we examine in this Market Pressure Review Blog Series. Stay tuned for more cities to follow! InvestorKit is a data-driven buyers’ agency that chooses purchasing locations through a sophisticated market pressure analysis system. This methodology has enabled our clients to achieve growth higher than the average and expedite their investment journey. Talk to us today by clicking here and requesting your 15-minute FREE discovery call!