Moreton Bay · Market Update · 2026 Update
Why Invest in Moreton Bay Property? (2026 Update)
One of Australia’s fastest-growing councils, between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. Updated October 2026 with 2026 prices, population and project data.
The City of Moreton Bay runs from Redcliffe and Petrie in the south to Caboolture, Morayfield and Bribie Island in the north. It is home to about 532,000 people (June 2025) and adds well over 10,000 residents a year; in 2023–24 it ranked eighth in Australia for the number of people added.
Prices have followed. REIQ put the Moreton Bay median house price at $1.053m in the March quarter 2026, up 5.3% in that quarter alone and up from $990,000 in the December quarter 2025.
Growth Areas and Projects
- Waraba (Caboolture West). A Priority Development Area planned for about 25,000 homes and 65,000 people. The draft development scheme closed for comment in July 2026 and is awaiting a decision.
- Moreton Bay Central (formerly The Mill, Petrie). Built around the University of the Sunshine Coast campus, with about $1.45bn of projects expected to start within 18 months and 8,600 jobs projected.
- The Wave. The $5.5bn Sunshine Coast rail line starts at Beerwah, just north of the council boundary, and improves the northern rail corridor’s links to the coast.
- Bruce Highway. $34m is committed to planning upgrades between Anzac Avenue and the Caboolture–Bribie Island Road; construction is not yet funded.
Rents and Vacancy
SQM Research reported Brisbane’s vacancy rate, which includes Moreton Bay, at 0.9% in mid-2026, well below the 2–3% usually seen as a balanced market. Tight vacancy keeps rental demand firm for new stock close to rail and jobs.
Tight vacancy supports rent, but only for the right stock: new homes close to rail and jobs, in estates without a wall of competing supply.
What to Weigh Up
Brisbane-area values have started to ease. Cotality recorded a 1.5% fall for Greater Brisbane in September 2026, and the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.60% the same month. Growth areas also bring a lot of new supply at once, so rent and resale depend on picking the right estate, lot and builder.
Our latest builder and developer stock lists (July–October 2026) include 151 new listings in Moreton Bay, priced from $800k to $1.37m with a median of $990k, and a median rent estimate of $765 a week (about 4.0% gross). These are indicative figures across many projects, not a single offer. Current suburbs, land and build prices and rents are on our Moreton Bay property investment page.
Terry Ryder of Hotspotting has long named Moreton Bay among his preferred South East Queensland markets for its infrastructure and rental demand. We found no Moreton Bay-specific Hotspotting commentary for 2026; his national outlook for 2026 points to Brisbane as part of the next phase of growth.
The Full Moreton Bay Report
To access the full and detailed Report on “Why invest in Moreton Bay Region”, click here
Sources: REIQ March quarter 2026; REIQ December quarter 2025; ABS estimate via City Population; .id population growth by LGA; Economic Development Queensland: Waraba PDA; EDQ: Moreton Bay Central; Moreton Daily Business; Sunshine Coast News on The Wave; TMR Bruce Highway upgrade; SQM Research vacancy rates; Terry Ryder in API Magazine, Jan 2026; CommBank on the RBA September 2026 decision; Cotality Home Value Index, September 2026.
More on Moreton Bay and Across the properT network
- Moreton Bay property investment: suburbs, new stock, prices and rents (Queensland)
- Caboolture & Morayfield: the northern growth corridor (Queensland)
- Moreton Bay investment property 2026: the northern growth corridor (Queensland)
- Compare all Queensland councils on the LGA matrix (Queensland)
- Strategy before property (properT network)
- South East Queensland property market: what investors need to know (properT network)
- Co-living investment in Brisbane and SEQ (Co-Living)
General information only, current at October 2026. Market conditions change; please speak with us before acting on any figures in this article.
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