Alice River, QLD 4817
Townsville City, Queensland
Good to Know
Alice River, QLD 4817 is a high-value house market in the Townsville City Council area, currently positioned as a long-hold capital growth submarket. Home to roughly 2,685 adults across 1,181 dwellings, the suburb shows a vacancy rate of 2.41%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Alice River is exhibiting constrained supply with price-led momentum. Stock on Market sits at 0.39% and Inventory at 2.18 months — below the rough ~3-month balanced threshold while still inside the balanced band — driving +14.8% YoY price growth and +0.3% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Price growth of +14.8% over the last year with rent growth of only +0.3% points to capital-growth momentum outpacing income returns — a classic price-led cycle. Supply signals reinforce that view: Stock on Market is a tight 0.39% while Inventory sits at a neutral 2.18 months, which together support upward price pressure more than rental upside.
See the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap for a live visual of where Alice River sits versus other markets.
Who lives in Alice River — and why it matters for investors
Alice River posts an IRSAD of 1047, above typical minimum thresholds, indicating relatively advantaged socioeconomic conditions that can support long-cycle capital growth and lower default risk. The suburb is owner-dominated: the renter/owner ratio is a low 7.0% and the units/houses ratio is 0.0%, meaning the market is overwhelmingly detached-housing and owner-occupied — this reduces rental churn but can limit short-term yield upside.
For more on how neighbourhood SES affects returns, read the IRSAD Crossover study.
Why suburb-level data matters for Alice River
Suburb metrics like typical price — $1,043,839 — and gross yield — 3.4% — give a far clearer picture for investors than broader council averages. Local supply-and-demand markers are decisive here: Stock on Market 0.39%, Inventory 2.18 months and median days on market 18 days show tight turnover and quick sales, which matter when sizing risk and expected holding periods.
Council-level averages can mask pockets like Alice River; see the methodology discussion in LGA vs Suburb research. For a printable breakdown, download the full Alice River data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 80
HtAG's RCS™ of 80 bundles three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into one composite. High overall scores paired with the sub-score split help you match the market to a long-hold growth strategy rather than a yield-first play.
Read more on how the RCS™ is built, or open Alice River in HtAG Copilot to explore sub-score detail and scenario testing.
Forward signals to watch
The vacancy rate — currently 2.41%: a neutral/balanced reading that implies rental markets are stable today, so expect modest rental pressure absent tighter vacancy.
The building approvals ratio — currently 9.99%: a high approvals reading that is unfavourable for capital upside if those approvals translate to delivered supply, so watch approvals-to-completions over the next 12–36 months.
The Brisbane cycle phase: a meaningful statewide cycle shift in Brisbane could alter investor demand, finance conditions and sentiment across QLD, which would filter into Alice River's local momentum.
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RCS Breakdown
Alice River's RCS™ headline is an overall signal — but it doesn't tell you why. The three sub-scores below reveal whether that score is earned through risk minimisation, capital growth, or cashflow — and which portfolio brief it fits.
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Critical to know
Market Trends
Alice River's headline values — $1,043K to buy and $680PW to rent, a 3.38% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved 164.63% and rents 53.26% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$1,043K is today. The 10-year trajectory reveals whether that's the top of a run, the start of a new leg, or somewhere mid-cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
$680PW today, with rent growth at (+0.28% YoY) compared to price growth (+14.77%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Alice River in its cycle - and is the 3.38% yield holding?
Cycle phase tells you whether you're buying near the bottom (room to run) or top (compression ahead). Yield trajectory tells you whether cashflow is durable or being eroded — the single most important question for a long-hold thesis.
Cycle Phase
Cycle Position
Yield Trajectory
Rent vs Price Spread
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Area Risks
Property data alone won't flag the structural risks that can erode a long-hold position. Bushfire overlays, flood-zone exposure, and economic concentration sit outside the price feed but determine whether your capital is insurable, defensible, and structurally protected. Unlock to see.
Are there hidden structural risks shaping Alice River's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Alice River carries risk signals a median can't show — hazard exposure from bushfire and flood overlays, and how narrowly local employment leans on a handful of sectors (the concentration the EDI score quantifies). Together these separate insurable, defensible long-holds from those carrying tail-risk that never surfaces in the headline number.
MADI Risk
EDI Risk
Bushfire
Flood
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Critical to know
Supply & Demand
Alice River's headline numbers show where the market is today. The two cards below answer where it's heading. Direction is what separates a buy from a wait.
Is housing supply tightening or building up?
Stock on Market is one number — the trend is what matters. SoM, inventory, building approvals and hold period together reveal whether the market is starving for stock (price pressure up) or quietly building a pipeline (pressure down).
Stock on Market
Inventory
Building Approvals
Hold Period
Is buyer and renter demand heating up or cooling off?
Vacancy is one signal — the real question is whether demand is still building or quietly peaking. Days on market, vacancy, search index and clearance rate are the four pulse-points — when they diverge, they signal a turning point.
Days on Market
Vacancy Rate
Search Index
Clearance Rate
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Fundamentals
Alice River can look solid on the surface — but the three layers below separate markets that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Is Alice River genuinely stable - or just expensive?
IRSAD hints at affluence, but socio-economic strength alone doesn't guarantee resilience. Combined with the renter-to-owner balance and unit-to-house ratio, you get the three signals that separate a tightly-held submarket from one carrying hidden volatility.
IRSAD
Renter to Owner
Units to Houses
Where do Alice River prices go over the next 12 months?
Today's headline price is just a snapshot. Projected ROI and the volatility index tell you whether to commit capital now, wait for a softer entry, or rotate into a steadie submarket.
Projected Annual ROI
Volatility Index
Can you actually buy into Alice River - and exit cleanly?
Tightly-held areas reward long-hold investors but punish anyone who needs liquidity. Annual sales and rental volume reveal whether your capital can reposition — or sits structurally locked in.
Annual Sales Volume
Annual Rental Volume
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Important to know
Education & Infrastructure
Alice River looks tightly-held and stable on the surface — but the three layers below separate areas that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Does Alice River's school catchment + infrastructure pipeline justify the price?
School ranks anchor family demand and tenant quality. The active infrastructure pipeline shifts a suburb's price ceiling over the next 5–10 years. Together they tell you whether Alice River has structural support for the next leg of capital growth.
School Rank
Hospitals & Employment
Infrastructure Spend
Transport Projects
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Full HtAG Intelligence
Alice River shows potential. The platform tells you whether it's the best fit for your portfolio.
Price and yield are only the surface. HtAG reads the forces underneath — supply tightening or loosening, demand heating or cooling, and the risks that move slowly but decide long-term growth. Together they show whether Alice River has the structural support for its next leg — or whether the numbers are running ahead of the fundamentals.
The total adult population (15 years or older) of Alice River 4817 QLD is 2,083, with a median age of 38. Of those, 58.52% are married, 9.65% are divorced or separated, 29.81% are single and 2.16% are widowed.
The average household size is 3.1 people per dwelling, and the median household monthly income is estimated to be $9,784. The median monthly mortgage repayment for households in this suburb is $2,000 which is 20.44% of their earnings.
Source: ABS Census Data (2021)