Mackay Regional
Queensland
Good to Know
Mackay QLD is a growth-oriented house market in the Mackay QLD area, currently positioned as a capital-growth submarket. Home to roughly 121,691 adults across 64,480 dwellings, Mackay QLD shows a vacancy rate of 1.51%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Mackay QLD is exhibiting tightening supply and strong capital-led price momentum. Stock on Market sits at 0.8% and Inventory at 2.05 months — below the roughly 3-month balanced-market threshold — driving +16.0% YoY price growth and +6.6% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Mackay QLD shows a classic capital-growth signal: prices are accelerating at +16.0% year-on-year while rents are rising at +6.6%, which points to stronger capital returns than near-term cashflow expansion. Supply-side readings are supportive of price momentum — Inventory sits at 2.05 months and Stock on Market is 0.8% — while vacancy remains in a balanced band at 1.51%. For a snapshot of how Mackay QLD fits into national microcycles, see the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap.
Who lives in Mackay QLD — and why it matters for investors
Mackay QLD records an IRSAD of 980, above the basic threshold HtAG often flags, which indicates relatively stronger socio-economic advantage than lower-index areas; that can reduce downside volatility and support longer-term demand. The renter/owner split is 28.0% (neutral) and the units/houses mix is 12.0% (neutral), so the market structure is neither heavily investor-led nor dominated by high-density stock. For more on why IRSAD patterns matter to returns, read the IRSAD Crossover study.
Why Mackay QLD is a screening layer, not a final answer
Council- or LGA-level averages can conceal large internal variation; treating Mackay QLD as a screening layer helps identify whether deeper, street-level metrics match your strategy. Key local figures to consider here include a typical price of $689,323, a gross yield of 4.91%, Stock on Market at 0.8%, Inventory at 2.05 months and median days on market of 36 days. These suburb-level signals should drive site-specific due diligence — see our methodology notes in the LGA vs Suburb research.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 50
The HtAG RCS™ overall score of 50 bundles three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into a single composite so you can compare markets quickly. The sub-score breakdown matters because different strategies (e.g. capital growth vs yield-focused) will weight those dimensions differently. Learn more about how the RCS™ is built. To drill into the component metrics, open Mackay QLD in HtAG Copilot.
Forward signals to watch
The vacancy rate — currently 1.51%: a sustained sub-2% vacancy over 12–24 months usually supports rent growth and puts upward pressure on rents and capital values, but it also increases tenant competition.
The building approvals ratio — currently 0.96%: this neutral reading suggests neither a surge nor a collapse in new supply; keep watching approvals for signs of rising pipeline risk to yields.
The Brisbane cycle phase: city-wide shifts in the Queensland capital’s cycle can bleed into regional markets; a sustained move in Brisbane from expansion to contraction would likely remove some upward momentum from Mackay QLD.
Does this area meet your investment goals?
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RCS Breakdown
Mackay Regional'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
Mackay Regional's headline values — $689K to buy and $650PW to rent, a 4.9% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved 118.92% and rents 118.46% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$689K 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.
$650PW today, with rent growth at (+6.55% YoY) compared to price growth (+15.98%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Mackay Regional in its cycle - and is the 4.9% 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 Mackay Regional's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Mackay Regional 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
Mackay Regional'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
Mackay Regional 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 Mackay Regional 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 Mackay Regional 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 Mackay Regional - 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
Mackay Regional 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 Mackay Regional'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 Mackay Regional 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
Mackay Regional 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 Mackay Regional has the structural support for its next leg — or whether the numbers are running ahead of the fundamentals.
Are you a real estate professional with an extensive knowledge of Mackay property market? Our members would love to hear from you! What is the market outlook for Mackay Regional LGA from your point of view? Share your insights in a comment below.