Market Pressure Review: Cairns in 10 Charts

Cairns: Gateway to the TropicsNestled between the Great Barrier Reef and the lush Wet Tropics rainforest, Cairns is one of Queensland’s most iconic coastal cities. Renowned for its tourism, tropical lifestyle, and growing local economy, it offers a unique blend of natural beauty, cultural vibrancy, and investment potential.

Since 2021, Cairns’s house prices have recorded solid gains after a prolonged period of slow growth, with an average annual growth of around 10.7%. Will this momentum carry into the year ahead? Join us today to explore the city’s current property market conditions and outlook!

As of September 2025, Cairns’s House Market Pressure is high.  

Among the six metrics that InvestorKit uses to measure market performance, Cairns scores 5 (very strong) in price pressure, rental pressure, and rental yield, 4 (strong) in incoming supply and growth cycle, and 3 (balanced) in affordability.

Cairns’s Demographic & Economic Trends

Cairns’s population growth rate has strengthened since 2022, strongly driven by overseas migrants. It was approximately 1.6% in FY 2023-24, which is slightly below the national average of 1.7%. Net overseas migration has improved significantly since 2022, whereas net internal migration has seen the opposite trend.

The unemployment rate has trended downward over the last decade. It has stabilised at around 3% since late 2023, the lowest in the previous decade. Online job advertisements have remained high, despite a recent decline, and are well above the pre-pandemic average.  

Cairns’s Sales Market Trends

Cairns’s house market pressure is high, pushing its current median price to slightly above $700k. Over the last 12 months, prices have increased by approximately 9.7%, while the median days on market have been consistently low at around 18 days.

Since early 2025, the number of for-sale listings has been relatively stable, while sales volume has risen. As a result, inventory has dropped to a point even lower than 2 months of stock.

In terms of incoming supply, Cairns’s building approval rates have been relatively low over the last decade, well below the 2-3% balanced benchmark, indicating a low risk of oversupply. 

Since 2021, Cairns’s house prices have accelerated after a prolonged period of slow growth. Its 10-year growth and beyond are in line with the long-term average of 5% to 7% per year, suggesting there is still room for healthy growth in the medium term, given high market pressure.

Cairns’s Rental Market Trends

The rental market is under high pressure, as evidenced by consistently low vacancy rates below 1% over the last two years. The median rent now stands at roughly $660/week, about 5.6% higher than it was 12 months ago.

Cairns’s yields are still strong (above 5%), well above the average yield of the most populated regional cities, despite softening slightly as sales price growth has outpaced rental growth over the past 12 months.

In terms of affordability, Cairns houses are less affordable than they were before 2022, with the price-to-income ratio increasing. However, the shift is not too extreme. It remains more affordable than many coastal lifestyle markets such as Whitsunday, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie.

In the next 6 to 12 months…

House prices are expected to continue growing healthily, given the high pressure in both the sales and rental markets. Rents are likely to continue at a steady growth pace, while rental yields will more likely either stabilise or decline slightly, as sale price growth is expected to stay ahead of rental growth.

Cairns is the 17th 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. Interested in learning more about InvestorKit’s research and services? Talk to us today by clicking here and requesting your 15-minute FREE discovery call!