Freshwater is in Cairns LGA, QLD, postcode 4870, with population 2,142.
The page has enough signal to be useful, but the story is mixed rather than decisive. Use compare mode to pressure-test it against stronger nearby options, then use the calculator if it still makes the shortlist.
Recent price movement shows visible market momentum. Higher SEIFA context supports a stronger local-quality read.
Indicative cashflow is interest-only and excludes tax — use the calculator for a full projection. Turnover divides recorded sales by an estimated household count (population over average household size).
Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer · stability drivers signed (+ = steadier)
Relative grade across Australian suburbs, combining qp's capital-growth (multi-year CAGR + cycle timing), rental-yield, and stability (price volatility + cycle + affordability) metrics via a three-pillar property-scoring method with an imbalance penalty. Within-Australia relative, indicative only — not financial advice.
70% of homes here are owner-occupied and 29% rented, with 5% of landlords negatively geared.
A balanced 70% owner-occupier / 29% renter mix.
ABS Census 2021 tenure (G37), ATO postcode rental statistics, and QuickProperty's investor-exposure index. Owner-occupied = owned outright + with a mortgage.
New-loan repayment $3,822/mo vs median rent $2,687/mo (+42% · +$262/wk)
At 4.2%: $3,051/mo (-770) · at 6.2% (current): $3,822/mo · at 8.2%: $4,666/mo (+844)
Assumes a 20% deposit and a 30-year principal-and-interest loan at the current RBA new owner-occupier variable rate, against median weekly household income (ABS Census 2021). Stress bands follow the 30% / 45%-of-income thresholds used in ANZ-CoreLogic and AIHW reporting. Rent vs buy compares that repayment with the suburb's median advertised rent; it excludes rates, insurance, maintenance and deposit opportunity cost.
Alternatives are similar-priced suburbs (0.7–1.4x this suburb's median) in other council areas that exceed it on the named metric. Indicative — not financial advice.
This suburb 8.0x · QLD median 9.6x — more affordable than the QLD typical
Nationally · more affordable to buy than 73% of AU suburbs
This suburb 33% · QLD median 19%
Nationally · lighter rent burden than 3% of AU suburbs
Owners with a mortgage repay a median of $1,625/mo, while renters pay about $2,687/mo — renting runs $1,062/mo higher on these medians.
Serviceability line: a household needs about $2,940/wk to hold a new loan on the median house at 30% of income (20% deposit, 30-year P&I, current RBA rate).
At the median asking rent, about 57% of households here would spend more than 30% of income on rent (rent stress line: $2,067/wk income).
Getting to work: 73% drive, 1% public transport, 3% walk or cycle, 20% worked from home (2021 Census, taken during COVID-era work-from-home arrangements).
1 of 1 schools here operate published enrolment zones (catchments). Zone boundaries set eligibility — check the official source for the exact catchment. Not enrolment advice.
Top 74% most liveable of 4,565Australian suburbs.
Bar = this suburb's percentile · tick = typical (median) peer
Suburb-level access-density index (not an address-level walk-time score), normalised within Australian suburbs. Method based on the Urban Liveability Index (Higgs et al. 2019) and Walk Score — three equal-weighted domains combined with an imbalance penalty.
Development screen
The official state policy page could not be reliably re-verified automatically in the latest review. Treat this screen as preliminary and confirm the current planning and building requirements with the state source and local council.
Rental use: State rental-law changes allow secondary dwellings to be rented more broadly, but implementation depends on an approved lawful dwelling and local planning/building requirements.
Open official policy sourceSuburb share of occupied private dwellings recorded as separate houses.
26.8 pp below the state median
State median 79.3% · 838 valid suburbs
A comparable planning-zone layer is not staged for this state.
Demand context only; it does not establish permission to rent a secondary dwelling.
Near the state median
State median 29.7% · 838 valid suburbs
No broad-area layer staged for this suburb. No broad-area layer staged for this suburb.
Approval pathway
This is an investigation sequence, not a guarantee that every step applies or that approval will be granted.
The current secondary dwelling / granny flat position needs direct confirmation before relying on this screen.
Confirm zoning, lot controls, overlays, setbacks, site coverage and whether planning approval is required.
Confirm the building approval route after the design, site classifications, services and construction requirements are known.
Confirm long-term rental, short-stay or family-use rules separately from permission to construct the dwelling.
Property due diligence
Every check starts unconfirmed. Progress stays in this browser and suburb evidence never clears an address-level requirement.
Confirm title dimensions, usable site area and any minimum lot threshold.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Test setbacks, private open space, landscaping and maximum site coverage against a concept plan.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Check survey levels, soil classification, retaining needs and likely earthworks.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Obtain current property-level zoning, overlays and applicable planning controls.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Review the title for easements, covenants, restrictions and common property.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Locate assets and connection points, then confirm capacity, clearances and discharge requirements.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Confirm service routes, upgrade needs and whether separate metering is permitted or practical.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Test driveway width, gradients, turning, parking and emergency access requirements.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Order an address-level bushfire assessment and determine any BAL construction response.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Obtain property flood information and check floor levels, flow paths and drainage constraints.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Confirm site classifications that affect structural design, materials and durability.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Confirm exemption, complying pathway or permit requirements with the responsible authority.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Identify required survey, design, engineering, energy, certification and inspection evidence.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Confirm occupation, rental, short-stay and family-use rules plus insurance and tax implications.
Metadata only. QuickProperty does not store or upload the underlying document.
Building due diligence
The National Construction Code is the baseline. Local hazards and site classifications can change the required structure, materials, fixings, insulation and detailing.
No local compliance layer is staged.
This is missing evidence, not evidence that the property has no constraints.
Confirm the NCC climate zone used for the building design and energy provisions.
May affect: Insulation and glazing · Condensation control · Roof-space ventilation
A suburb layer cannot determine the site wind classification or Bushfire Attack Level.
May affect: Structure and tie-downs · Cladding and fixings · Openings and bushfire detailing
Confirm marine or corrosive exposure and the applicable termite-management requirements.
May affect: Fasteners and connectors · Roofing and coatings · Termite management
This screen identifies investigation triggers, not building quality or property compliance. Confirm the address, design and current jurisdiction rules with the council, building surveyor or certifier, designer and engineer.
NCC 2022 Housing Provisions: how to use · NCC 2022 Volume Two and Housing Provisions
ABS population projection (2022 base) for the Freshwater - Stratford SA2 statistical area — the finest official projection grain available; suburb-level projections do not exist.
Located in Queensland within the Cairns local government area, Freshwater is a smaller residential area (postcode 4870). With a population of 2,142, the suburb has an established family demographic with a median age of 42. Households earn a median income of $97K per year, with an average household size of 2.3 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +1.0% year-on-year at the LGA level. QLD employment has moved +1.5% year-on-year in the official ABS Labour Force trend series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. QLD also had 35 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 16 underway, and 30 in planning as at 2025-09-01, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are professionals, managers, community & personal service. Employment in the area leans toward healthcare and education. The top ancestries reported are English, Australian, Irish.
Freshwater has a median house price of $780,000, which has risen solidly by 9.1% year-on-year. Units have a median price of $375,000 (+10.3% YoY). The current median weekly rent is $620. This gives a gross rental yield of approximately 4.1%. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1,625.
Freshwater is served by 1 school, including 1 primary. The average ICSEA score is 1064, which is above the national average of 1,000. The crime rate in the Cairns LGA is higher than average at 11,033 incidents per 100,000 population.
Looking at the investment signals, Gross rental yield sits at around 4.1% (moderate yield). Property prices sit below the state median ($780K/$1.1M), which can point to relative value. The price-to-income ratio of 8.0x is considered moderate. House prices have moved +9.1% year-on-year. Population growth of +1.0% year-on-year points to stable demand fundamentals. Building approvals have changed +0% year-on-year, indicating steady development activity.
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Freshwater has enough direct local evidence for a first-pass decision.
QuickProperty mixes release files, Census baselines, and matched local services on this page. Read the status panel before treating every metric as equally fresh.
Direct state price coverage is used where present; missing house or unit anchors fall back to annual ABS SA2 matches
Use current rent as a starting signal, not as a fixed underwriting truth.
Schools, transport, and hospitals are useful as presence signals, but they still have different source cadences.
Freshwater is in the Cairns Local Government Area, QLD, postcode 4870. Council-level context for Cairns LGA (suburb mix, population, rent, and price coverage) is available on the QuickProperty LGA page.
The current median house price in Freshwater, QLD is $780K, based on the latest available sales data from state Valuers General offices and ABS Data by Region.
The median weekly rent in Freshwater is $620/wk, based on the current market rent dataset. The current rent signal is income-stretched rent market.
Income-stretched rent market: Weekly rent screens at about 49% of annual income. Use this as a suburb screening signal before comparing candidates or modelling a purchase; the matching rent ranking can provide broader market context.
QuickProperty's investment signals for Freshwater show: Moderate Yield, Below Median, Moderate. These are computed from price, rent, income, and population data — not an opaque score.
Property prices come from state Valuers General offices and ABS Data by Region. Demographics are from ABS Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA. Crime statistics are from state police agencies. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.
Property prices update quarterly. RBA macro indicators update with each deploy. Demographics are from Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA 2025.