Belgian Gardens
At $408,000, the median house price in Belgian Gardens sits well below the Queensland coastal average, yet the suburb draws a notably educated workforce, with 41.6% of residents holding university qualifications, which is 11.5 percentage points above the national figure. The suburb occupies 1.11 km2 in Townsville's inner north, housing 2,073 residents at a density of 1,871 per km2. The 11.4% vacancy rate is high by national standards and reflects a renter-heavy tenure mix where 43.3% of households lease rather than own. Population has declined 7.5% over the past decade, so the affordability signal is real, not a sign of surging demand.
Population
2,073
Median Age
40.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,638/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
1
Median House
$408K
Estimated from rent (2025)
The $408,000 median house price is well below comparable Queensland coastal markets and monthly repayments average $1,733, with a mortgage-to-income ratio of 24.4% that stays below the 30% stress threshold. Separate houses make up 53.1% of dwellings and apartments 32.6%, so buyers have range. Three-bedroom homes are the most common at 36.5%, followed by two-bedroom at 30.2% and four-plus at 23.9%. Outright owners and mortgage holders are each at 28.3%, an even split that suggests long-term residents and newer purchasers coexist rather than debt-heavy buyers dominating.
For Buyers
The $408,000 median house price is well below comparable Queensland coastal markets and monthly repayments average $1,733, with a mortgage-to-income ratio of 24.4% that stays below the 30% stress threshold. Separate houses make up 53.1% of dwellings and apartments 32.6%, so buyers have range. Three-bedroom homes are the most common at 36.5%, followed by two-bedroom at 30.2% and four-plus at 23.9%. Outright owners and mortgage holders are each at 28.3%, an even split that suggests long-term residents and newer purchasers coexist rather than debt-heavy buyers dominating.
For Investors
With 43.3% of residents renting and weekly rent of $283, Belgian Gardens offers a large tenant base, though gross yields against the $408,000 median are modest. The 11.4% vacancy rate is the key risk, running higher than the national average and indicating landlords compete for tenants. Overseas migration adds 21 residents per year while internal migration is near neutral at negative 2 annually. The 30.9% turnover rate means roughly one in three households moved in the past five years. No development applications were lodged in the past 12 months, so no near-term new supply will add competitive pressure.
Development Activity
Total DAs
1
Last 12 Months
1
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
—
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Belgian Gardens iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Belgian Gardens State School
Prep-6 · 595 students
Demographics
The median age is 40, at the national average, and both young and senior shares grew over the decade by 1.1 and 1.3 points respectively. Overseas-born residents account for 18.9%, 2.7 points below the national figure, and ancestry leans Anglo-Celtic: English (870), Irish (302) and Scottish (239). University qualifications reach 41.6%, which is 11.5 points above national, likely driven by the concentration of healthcare and education workers. Average household size is 2.2 persons, 0.3 below national, and 26.5% of families are couples without children.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
53.1%
Houses
13.7%
Townhouse
32.6%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure splits as 43.3% renting, 28.3% mortgage and 28.3% outright owned. The outright ownership share equal to the mortgage share suggests long-term holders coexist with newer buyers. Separate houses dominate at 53.1%, with apartments at 32.6% and semi-detached at 13.7%. Three-bedroom dwellings lead at 36.5%, followed by four-plus bedrooms at 23.9%. The rent-to-income ratio of 17.3% is well below the national stress threshold of 30%, making the $283 weekly rent affordable relative to incomes at the 56.6th percentile. The 11.4% vacancy rate remains above the national average, signalling supply exceeds current demand.
Mortgage / mo
$1,733
Rent / wk
$283
HH Size
2.2
Personal Income / wk
$964
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
11.4%
Unoccupied
110
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
17.3%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
24.4%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
26.5%
Couples, no children
1,424
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare dominates at 24.4% of employed residents (190 workers), followed by Education at 16.3% (127 workers) and Public Administration at 11.0%, giving the local economy a strong public-sector orientation. By occupation, Professionals lead at 330, followed by Community and Personal Service workers at 151 and Managers at 131. The unemployment rate is 2.6% and the full-time employment rate is 68.9%. SEIFA places the suburb at IEO decile 8, above the national median for education and occupation, while IRSAD and IRSD both sit at decile 7, indicating moderate advantage overall.
Unemployment
3.2%
Labour Force
1,568
Unemployed
50
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
68.9%
Part-time
28.5%
Participation
61.3%
Employed
1,006
Occupations
Top Industries
University
41.6%
Postgraduate
11.7%
Born Overseas
18.9%
Dwellings
849
Transport to Work
Transport is car-dependent, with 87.9% of residents driving to work, 4.9% walking or cycling and just 1.3% using public transport, lower active transport use than most inner-city suburbs nationally. The IRSAD decile of 7 places Belgian Gardens in the upper half of relative advantage nationally. The volunteering rate of 22.4% is notable for a population of 2,073. Only 5.0% need daily assistance despite a median age of 40. Rent stress is absent at 17.3% of income and mortgage stress is low at 24.4%. No schools are recorded within the 1.11 km2 boundary, so families rely on neighbouring Townsville schools.
Drive
87.9%
Public Transport
1.3%
Walk / Cycle
4.9%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
-0.6%/yr
(-19 people/yr)
EstablishedBelgian Gardens is contracting slowly: the annual population change is negative 0.6% (about 19 residents lost per year) and the 10-year decline is 7.5%, below the state average for established coastal suburbs. The medium forecast projects the SA2 population falling from 3,190 in 2025 to approximately 3,067 by 2031. Overseas migration offsets some loss at positive 21 per year while internal migration is near neutral. Real incomes grew 10.1% over the decade and affordability improved, with the ownership cost-to-income ratio falling from 41.7% in 2011 to 30.8% in 2021, a positive signal even as headcount declines.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Balanced
Net Overseas / yr
+21
Net Internal / yr
-2
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Belgian Gardens compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Belgian Gardens a good suburb to live in?
Belgian Gardens scores SEIFA decile 8 on the IEO index, placing it in the upper fifth nationally for education and occupation advantage. Household incomes are at the 56.6th percentile nationally, and both rent-to-income at 17.3% and mortgage-to-income at 24.4% are below stress thresholds. The main drawbacks are a high 11.4% vacancy rate and a slowly declining population of 2,073.
What is the median house price in Belgian Gardens?
The median house price is $408,000, with average monthly mortgage repayments of $1,733. Weekly rent averages $283. The mortgage-to-income ratio of 24.4% is below the 30% stress threshold, making it one of the more affordable coastal Queensland markets for buyers at the 56.6th income percentile.
What schools are in Belgian Gardens?
No schools are recorded inside the 1.11 km2 Belgian Gardens boundary in this dataset. Families rely on schools in neighbouring Townsville suburbs. Despite that, the suburb has a notably educated adult population, with 41.6% holding university qualifications, which is 11.5 percentage points above the national average.
Is Belgian Gardens safe?
Detailed crime statistics are not available for Belgian Gardens in this dataset. As an indirect indicator, the suburb scores decile 7 on the IRSD index of relative disadvantage, above the national median, and only 5.0% of its 2,073 residents require daily assistance with self-care tasks, both consistent with a lower-disadvantage community.
Is Belgian Gardens good for property investment?
The 43.3% renter share provides a large tenant pool, and the $283 weekly rent is affordable relative to local incomes. However, the 11.4% vacancy rate is above average for Queensland and indicates competition among landlords for tenants. Population is declining at 0.6% per year and the gentrification score of 12 suggests no near-term uplift in demand, so the investment case depends on income yield rather than capital growth.
How is Belgian Gardens's population changing?
Population is declining at about 0.6% per year, losing roughly 19 residents annually. Over 10 years the suburb has contracted by 7.5%. Overseas migration adds 21 residents per year and partially offsets the decline, but the medium forecast projects the broader SA2 population falling from around 3,190 in 2025 to about 3,067 by 2031.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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