Question 1

Is Airlie Beach a nice place to live?

Accepted Answer

Airlie Beach is the coastal gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, centred on a compact waterfront promenade and a busy marina.

The community is made up largely of couples without children at home and many renters, with 50.7% of homes rented. Regular boat and ferry departures shape daily life, while nearby headlands, parkland and walking tracks provide outlooks across the Coral Sea and direct access to island and reef departures. The suburb's Precinct Master Plan has been adopted, providing a staged roadmap for renewal across the foreshore, lagoon, parklands, Main Street connections and Waterson Way.

Question 2

Is it expensive to live in Airlie Beach?

Accepted Answer

In Airlie Beach, a unit at $710,000 works out to about 8.7 times a typical local annual household income, based on a typical local household earning about $1,562 a week at the most recent Census. Renting is also a substantial cost here: a house rent of $790 a week would take roughly 51% of that weekly income, and a unit rent of $650 a week would take about 42%.

Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.

Question 3

Is Airlie Beach a good place to invest?

Accepted Answer

Over the past 12 months, Airlie Beach’s market has been split: unit values rose 16.1%, a strong rise, while house values fell 13.3%, a sharp decline. At the same time unit rents increased 8.3%, a solid rise, while house rents fell 9.2%, a notable drop.

Put in investor terms, the house side shows declines in both capital growth and rental income, with values slipping further than rents. The unit side shows gains in both capital growth and rental income, with unit values rising by a larger margin than unit rents.

This information has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional financial advice. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.

	Houses	Units
Median price Past 3 months	N/A	$710K
Change in value Past 12 months	-13.3%	16.1%
Sold Past 3 months	4	11
Median days on market Past 12 months	35	39
Average rent Past 12 months	$790	$650
Change in rent Past 12 months	-9.2%	8.3%

	Suburb	QLD
Median age years	41	38
Median household income weekly	$1,562	$1,675
Couples with children share of families	20.2%	41.2%
Couples without children share of families	68.2%	40.3%
One-parent families share of families	9.4%	16.8%
Homes owned outright share of homes	31.0%	30.1%
Homes with a mortgage share of homes	18.2%	35.6%
Homes rented share of homes	50.7%	34.3%

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