Is Forest Lake a nice place to live?

Forest Lake is a master-planned Brisbane south-west suburb centred on a chain of lakes and surrounding parkland, with tree-lined streets and interconnected walking and cycling paths. It’s a community with many households buying their homes, and couples with children make up 49.2% of families. The suburb includes shopping precincts, community facilities and sporting fields and is served by bus services and arterial roads linking through to Brisbane and Ipswich; Brisbane City Council approved the submission for funding for a new nature waterplay park in the Lake Precinct.

Is it expensive to live in Forest Lake?

House prices in Forest Lake sit well above what a typical local household earned. With a median house price of $1,037,500, buying a house there is about 10.4 times a typical local annual household income (weekly household income $1,921 at the last Census). Renting looks relatively less stretched: an average house rent of $673 a week would take about 35% of a typical local household's weekly income, while the average unit rent of $470 a week would take about 24%. On these figures, buying is the more stretched option against local incomes, and renting a unit takes a smaller share of income. Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.

Is Forest Lake a good place to invest?

Over the past 12 months in Forest Lake, house values rose a strong 15.1% while house rents increased a solid 8.5%. Unit values also rose strongly, up 12.3%, while unit rents edged up a modest 4.4%. In both the house and unit markets the rise in median value outpaced the rise in median rent, so the movement in capital value was larger than the movement in rental income for each property type. 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.

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Forest Lake suburb profile

Forest Lake is a master-planned residential suburb in Brisbane's south-west centred on a chain of lakes and surrounding parkland. Tree-lined streets meet water-edge reserves and interconnected walking and cycling paths, giving the neighbourhood a relaxed, park-focused character and easy access to local shops and schools.

Housing is largely low-density detached homes with pockets of townhouses and newer infill, many properties oriented to the water or green space. The suburb contains shopping precincts, community facilities and sporting fields, and is served by bus services and arterial roads linking through to Brisbane and Ipswich.

Forest Lake property market performance

Current median dwelling price$753,750Past 3 months

Property growth+13.7%Past 12 months

Forest Lake's median house price is $1,037,500, up 15.1% over 12 months, a sharp rise. It's primarily a house market; there is no reliable unit median because too few units have sold here recently for a median to be published.

Forest Lake's average house rent is $673 a week and rose 8.5% over 12 months, a notable increase that nonetheless trailed the larger rise in house values.

	Houses	Units
Median price Past 3 months	$1.04M	N/A
Change in value Past 12 months	15.1%	12.3%
Sold Past 3 months	57	1
Median days on market Past 12 months	11	N/A
Average rent Past 12 months	$673	$470
Change in rent Past 12 months	8.5%	4.4%

5 year median price trend for houses and units

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Forest Lake demographics

Forest Lake is a community with many households buying their homes.

Couples with children make up 49.2% of families in Forest Lake and 48.0% of homes are owned with a mortgage. At the 2021 Census 22,676 people lived in Forest Lake.

Forest Lake and Queensland

	Suburb	QLD
Median age years	37	38
Median household income weekly	$1,921	$1,675
Couples with children share of families	49.2%	41.2%
Couples without children share of families	31.7%	40.3%
One-parent families share of families	17.6%	16.8%
Homes owned outright share of homes	25.4%	30.1%
Homes with a mortgage share of homes	48.0%	35.6%
Homes rented share of homes	26.6%	34.3%

Source: ABS 2021 Census. Shares of homes exclude other and not-stated tenure.

Forest Lake infrastructure, key developments and investment opportunities

Forest Lake's Forest Lake Waterplay Park was put forward for the Australian Government Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program, with Brisbane City Council approving submission for funding in 2025; the project is described as a new nature waterplay park in the Lake Precinct. In 2026 St John’s Anglican College in Forest Lake was constructing a new outdoor 50-metre, ten-lane pool with a covered grandstand seating about 688 as part of its senior school precinct works.

Suburbs near Forest Lake

Some popular suburbs near Forest Lake include:

How does Forest Lake compare to nearby suburbs?

Median house prices: Forest Lake’s median house price is 7.5% higher than Doolandella’s.
Median unit prices: Forest Lake’s median unit price is 9.2% lower than Doolandella’s.
House price growth: Property prices in nearby Ellen Grove have risen 14.9% more than in Forest Lake over the past year.
Unit price growth: Property prices in nearby Ellen Grove have risen 7.7% more than in Forest Lake over the past year.
Selling speed for houses: Properties in Forest Lake are selling 62.1% faster than in Ellen Grove.
Investment considerations: In Forest Lake, the rental yield for house is 6.0% lower than the Brisbane average, while the rental yield for units is 28.6% lower.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Forest Lake have grown 17.6% lower than the average rate of growth across Brisbane.
Unit price growth:Over the past 12 months, unit prices in Forest Lake have grown 24.8% lower than the average rate of growth for units across Brisbane.

Common questions about Forest Lake

Is Forest Lake a nice place to live?
Forest Lake is a master-planned Brisbane south-west suburb centred on a chain of lakes and surrounding parkland, with tree-lined streets and interconnected walking and cycling paths.
It’s a community with many households buying their homes, and couples with children make up 49.2% of families. The suburb includes shopping precincts, community facilities and sporting fields and is served by bus services and arterial roads linking through to Brisbane and Ipswich; Brisbane City Council approved the submission for funding for a new nature waterplay park in the Lake Precinct.
Is it expensive to live in Forest Lake?
House prices in Forest Lake sit well above what a typical local household earned. With a median house price of $1,037,500, buying a house there is about 10.4 times a typical local annual household income (weekly household income $1,921 at the last Census). Renting looks relatively less stretched: an average house rent of $673 a week would take about 35% of a typical local household's weekly income, while the average unit rent of $470 a week would take about 24%. On these figures, buying is the more stretched option against local incomes, and renting a unit takes a smaller share of income.

Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.
Is Forest Lake a good place to invest?
Over the past 12 months in Forest Lake, house values rose a strong 15.1% while house rents increased a solid 8.5%. Unit values also rose strongly, up 12.3%, while unit rents edged up a modest 4.4%. In both the house and unit markets the rise in median value outpaced the rise in median rent, so the movement in capital value was larger than the movement in rental income for each property type.

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.

Choose the right real estate agents in Forest Lake

There are 106 real estate agents in Forest Lake, but they don’t all deliver the same results.

Some agents have a much stronger presence in the suburb, with just 5 agents handling around 42.4% of all sales in the past year.

Commission rates in Forest Lake typically range from 2.44% to 3.04%. Comparing agents—including what they charge, what’s included, and how they structure their fees—is not only important when choosing an agent, the right structure can help ensure your chosen agent is motivated to achieve the best possible result.