Cairns Real Estate 2027 Prediction
Why we expect higher prices and rents as the apartment shortage persists
Our Cairns real estate prediction for 2027 is simple: higher property prices, rising rents and strong opportunities in established apartments.
Cairns needs more homes. But building them has become expensive, and new supply is taking too long to reach the market.
That is good reason to look closely at the homes already here. At The Buyers Co, we believe quality established apartments will be one of the most attractive parts of the Cairns market in 2027.
The October 2026 Cairns Economic Monitor shows why. Rental vacancy remains below 1%, rents are rising and building approvals are still too low to ease the shortage. [1]
What the latest Cairns property numbers show
The October Monitor brings together the latest available data at publication. Its key indicators are:
Cairns is not adding homes fast enough
Building approvals have started to improve, but the recovery is small. The July trend figure was 108 homes. Approvals were still 5.3% below a year earlier after allowing for a large Woree project that affected the comparison. [1]
An approval is only the beginning. Builders still need to be appointed, finance arranged and the work completed. The Monitor says new approvals can take at least a year or two to become homes people can move into. [1]
We expect the housing shortage to carry into 2027. A small lift in approvals will take time to make a difference.
The Cairns economy is still adding jobs
The report shows another 1,900 people employed over the year, taking the total to 145,300. Employment grew by 1.4%. [1]
Unemployment rose to 5.2% as more people entered the workforce. The report explains that jobs were still growing, but the number of people looking for work grew faster. A growing workforce also needs places to live. [1]
High building costs are holding back new apartments
Across Australia, house construction costs were 51% higher than before the pandemic, according to the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council’s August 2026 report. [4]
New apartments are expensive too. REA Group found that 90% of Queensland’s new apartment listings were priced above $1 million in the first three months of 2026. Its research links higher building and finance costs to the higher prices developers need to charge. [5]
Developers have to pay for land, materials, workers, approvals, services and finance. They also need enough profit to make the project worth taking on. If buyers cannot pay the price needed to cover those costs, the project can stall.
Established apartments offer a clear opportunity
A local example shows the scale of new housing costs. Woree’s 490-home housing project has a reported total budget of $364 million. That averages about $743,000 per home. [6]
Meanwhile, Opteon recorded 652 unit sales across Cairns Regional Council’s area in the first half of 2026, with a median sale price of $465,000. It also points to the high cost of replacing quality established Cairns property. [3]
This is where we see the opportunity: finding well-built established apartments for much less than it would cost to deliver a similar property today.
When new apartments are too expensive to build at prices buyers can afford, more demand stays with existing homes. We expect that to support further price growth in 2027.
We expect Cairns rents to keep climbing
Cairns rental vacancy was just 0.8% in August. The Monitor reports 68 months in a row with vacancy between 0.5% and 1.2%. That is more than five years of very limited rental choice. [1]
Two-bedroom unit rents are up 13% over the year, while three-bedroom house rents are up 5%. With few rentals available and new homes expensive to build, we expect rents to rise further in 2027. [1]
More listings give buyers room to negotiate
There are also more homes to choose from. LJ Hooker’s commentary in the Monitor reports 1,256 properties for sale across Greater Cairns, compared with 791 a year earlier. House prices were largely unchanged over the latest month, while the unit price measure dipped 0.3%. [1]
For buyers, that can mean more choice and more room to negotiate. Selling an existing property changes who owns it, but does not add another home to the city. We see an opportunity to buy carefully while competition has eased.
Tourism also supports local accommodation demand. International visitor spending in Tropical North Queensland rose about 22% over the year to June 2026, while domestic overnight spending fell 6.7%. For buyers considering an eligible short-stay property, our new partner company Pebble Stays provides local management in Cairns and Palm Cove. [1]
Our Cairns real estate predictions for 2027
Higher sale prices. We expect the shortage of homes and the cost of building new ones to support further growth.
Higher rents. We expect renters to keep competing for a limited number of available properties.
Strong opportunities in established apartments. We believe well-located units with sensible ownership costs will remain attractive to buyers and investors.
Find the right Cairns property with The Buyers Co
The opportunity starts with choosing the right property and paying the right price.
At The Buyers Co, we help you find suitable homes on and off market, compare prices, check rental potential and ownership costs, and negotiate the purchase. For apartments, we also look closely at body corporate fees, insurance, maintenance and planned building work.
Thinking about buying in Cairns? Book a free buying strategy session with The Buyers Co and let’s find the right opportunity for you.
Sources
The 2027 predictions are The Buyers Co’s outlook, based on information available on 10 October 2026.
[1] Cairns Economic Monitor, October 2026. Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Conus. Building approvals, employment, rents, property prices and local market commentary.
[2] SQM Research, Buy Chart Data. Asking-price, asking-rent and vacancy measures. Read source
[3] Opteon, Cairns Residential Property Market Insights Half 1 2026, 10 August 2026. Unit sales and replacement-cost commentary. Read source
[4] National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, Quarterly Report August 2026. Australian house construction costs. Read source
[5] REA Group, New apartment supply is out of step with what buyers can afford, 29 April 2026. Read source
[6] Regional Australia Institute, Woree Social and Affordable Housing Project case study. The $743,000 figure is the reported total project budget divided by 490 homes. Read source
[7] Cairns Regional Council, Securing Cairns Housing Foundations, updated 21 September 2026. Read source
