Townsville’s rental market has been tight for several years. The latest official figures, to the June quarter 2026, show that hasn’t changed. Rents are still rising, although more slowly for units than for houses, and very few homes sit empty for long.
This update pulls together the latest data from the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA), which records the rent on every new bond lodged in Queensland, and the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), which tracks vacancy rates. All figures are for the Townsville City Council area unless we say otherwise.
Vacancy: still below 1%
The REIQ’s vacancy rate for Townsville was 0.9% in the June quarter 2026, down 0.3 percentage points on the March quarter (REIQ, published 30 July 2026). The REIQ considers 2.6% to 3.5% a healthy range. At under 1%, fewer than one in a hundred rental homes is vacant at any time, and well-presented properties generally lease quickly.
Rents: up 72% for houses since 2019
The RTA’s median weekly rent for a three-bedroom house in Townsville was $550 in the June quarter 2026, up from $500 a year earlier and $320 in June 2019.
Show the data as a table
| June quarter | Median weekly rent |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $320 |
| 2020 | $320 |
| 2021 | $350 |
| 2022 | $390 |
| 2023 | $420 |
| 2024 | $475 |
| 2025 | $500 |
| 2026 | $550 |
Source: Residential Tenancies Authority, median rents by local government area (Townsville City).
Other property types have followed a similar path over the same seven years:
| Property type | June 2019 | June 2025 | June 2026 | Change since 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-bedroom house | $320 | $500 | $550 | +72% |
| 4-bedroom house | $385 | $595 | $640 | +66% |
| 2-bedroom unit | $260 | $440 | $450 | +73% |
The standout of the past year is the gap between houses and units. Three- and four-bedroom house rents rose by 8% to 10%, while the two-bedroom unit median rose by only about 2%. After several years of very fast growth, unit rents appear to be levelling off. Units still show the biggest gain since 2019.
How big is the market?
At the end of June 2026 the RTA held 23,950 rental bonds for homes in the Townsville council area, a rough measure of the number of active tenancies. During the June quarter alone, 2,049 new bonds were lodged, showing how much leasing activity continues even in a market with so few vacancies.
Suburb by suburb
Rents vary more between property types than between suburbs, but location still matters. From the RTA’s June quarter 2026 suburb medians:
- 3-bedroom houses ranged from $520 in Kelso and Rasmussen to $610 in Mount Low.
- 4-bedroom houses ranged from $580 in Kelso to $700 in Idalia.
- 2-bedroom units ranged from $390 in Currajong to $650 in Townsville City, where much of the stock is newer apartments.
Each of our suburb guides shows the latest RTA medians for that suburb, or its postcode where the suburb has too few new bonds for its own figure.
What’s driving demand
Townsville’s rental demand rests on a few large, stable foundations:
- Defence. Lavarack Barracks and RAAF Base Townsville bring a steady flow of members and families, with a peak around the December and January posting period.
- Health and education. Townsville University Hospital, James Cook University and the Mater hospitals employ thousands of people, many on contracts or rotations who rent rather than buy.
- Limited spare supply. A vacancy rate below 1% means there are very few empty homes for the number of people looking to rent.
What it means for landlords
A tight market is good news for owners, but it doesn’t mean any rent will do. Under Queensland law, rent can only be increased once every 12 months per property, with two months’ notice, and rent bidding is banned. We cover the details in our guide to Queensland rental laws. A rent set too high can mean a longer vacancy, and a missed week or two of rent can wipe out much of the difference.
Our approach is to price each property against recent leases of comparable homes nearby, not a headline median. We also recommend keeping good tenants where it makes financial sense. With unit rents now rising more slowly than house rents, pricing units carefully is especially important.
If you’d like to know where your property sits in today’s market, request a free rental appraisal.
Sources: Residential Tenancies Authority median rents and bond data, to June quarter 2026; REIQ Residential Vacancy Rate Report, June quarter 2026. Figures are medians for new bonds lodged, and individual homes can rent well above or below them.