Brisbane northside property investment guide 2026: Chermside, Nundah, Albion, Kedron and Northgate
Brisbane's northside houses cost $1.32 million to $1.68 million with gross yields of 2.32% to 3.02%. They are out of reach for most first-time investors and their cash flow is poor. Brisbane's northside units tell a completely different story. At $780,000 to $822,500 with gross yields of 3.82% to 4.43% and annual growth of 19.2% to 24.6%, the northside unit corridor running from Chermside through Nundah, Albion, Kedron and Northgate is one of the strongest investment positions in Brisbane right now. Here is the verified data for all five suburbs.
The Brisbane northside has historically been viewed as the less glamorous alternative to the inner south and west. That perception has not kept pace with the data. The northside corridor from Chermside to Northgate now offers some of the most compelling unit investment fundamentals in Greater Brisbane, combining genuine gentrification momentum, strong infrastructure access, tight vacancy and annual unit growth rates that rival the city's most talked-about investment suburbs.
The critical distinction for investors approaching the northside in 2026 is that houses and units are telling completely different stories. Northside houses are expensive, low-yielding and beyond the deposit capacity of most first-time investors. Nundah houses at $1,682,250 with a 2.32% gross yield and Chermside houses at $1,320,000 with a 2.68% yield are not viable investment propositions for a PropTalk reader targeting their first or second Brisbane investment property. The unit market at each of these suburbs is a different proposition entirely, and that is where the investment analysis in this guide focuses.
Each suburb profile below includes both house and unit data so investors can see the full picture. The investment case for the northside is built on units, not houses. All tax benefit and holding cost calculations assume a new build investment property with full negative gearing and depreciation retained post-budget. Established property figures will differ. The PropTalk yield calculator in new build mode will show your specific position.
The northside at a glance: house vs unit across five suburbs
| Suburb | House median | House growth | House yield | Unit median | Unit growth | Unit yield | Unit weekly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nundah | $1,682,250 | +34.6% | 2.32% | $790,000 | +21.5% | 4.28% | $208/wk |
| Chermside | $1,320,000 | +20.0% | 2.68% | $780,000 | +20.0% | 4.33% | $201/wk |
| Albion | $1,350,000 | +7.1% | 3.02% | $822,500 | +19.2% | 4.43% | $202/wk |
| Kedron | $1,580,000 | +17.5% | 2.47% | $816,000 | +24.6% | 3.82% | $257/wk |
| Northgate | $1,461,000 | +20.7% | 2.56% | $797,000 | +19.9% | 4.05% | $231/wk |
Three things stand out immediately from the comparison table. First, house yields across all five northside suburbs are below or at the lower bound of what most investors would consider an acceptable cash flow position. At 2.32% to 3.02%, northside houses are capital growth assets for owner-occupiers and long-term wealth builders, not viable rental investments for someone entering the market in 2026 with limited cash flow capacity. Second, unit yields of 3.82% to 4.43% are meaningful , they sit at or above the Brisbane city average and produce rental income that materially offsets the mortgage. Third, the weekly holding cost of $201 to $257 per week for northside units after rental income, ownership costs and tax benefits as a new build is lower than any of the inner-Brisbane unit markets in PropTalk's southside guide, despite similar or stronger growth trajectories.
Five suburbs in detail
Chermside is Brisbane's largest commercial and retail centre outside the CBD. Westfield Chermside is one of the highest-traffic shopping centres in Queensland, and The Prince Charles Hospital immediately north of the suburb provides a permanent, recession-resistant employment anchor that generates consistent rental demand from healthcare workers, students and young professionals. The suburb is approximately 10 kilometres north of Brisbane CBD with direct bus access and proximity to the Gympie Road arterial corridor.
At $780,000 for units with 20.0% annual growth and a 4.33% gross yield, Chermside is the most accessible entry point of the five northside suburbs in this guide. The total upfront cost of $193,500 at 80% LVR including stamp duty is lower than any of the PropTalk southside guide suburbs. The true weekly holding cost of $201 per week after rental income, management costs, body corporate, rates, insurance and tax benefits as a new build is among the most manageable in the broader Brisbane market at current interest rates.
The honest limitation of Chermside is that it sits at the outer edge of what most buyers agents would call the investment-grade inner ring. Chermside's unit growth of 20% annually is strong but it is driven partly by affordability pressure from buyers priced out of closer suburbs rather than by the specific gentrification story of Albion or the infrastructure catalyst of Nundah. Investors should focus on units within walking distance of Westfield and the hospital precinct rather than outer pockets of the suburb where the rental demand case is weaker.
Nundah is approximately 8 kilometres north-east of Brisbane CBD and sits directly on the Doomben and Airport rail lines, providing dual rail access that few Brisbane suburbs can match. The suburb has undergone significant gentrification over the past decade. What was once a working-class suburb of interwar and post-war homes now has a thriving village commercial strip along Sandgate Road, strong cafe and restaurant culture, and a demographic profile that skews increasingly toward young professionals and owner-occupiers who drive long-term price resilience.
The house data tells an extraordinary story. Nundah houses grew 34.6% in the 12 months to May 2026 , the highest annual house growth figure of any suburb in this guide and one of the strongest in Brisbane. The chart trajectory on realestate.com.au confirms this is not an anomaly: relatively modest growth from 2021 to mid-2024, then a sharp acceleration from late 2024 through May 2026. That acceleration reflects Nundah reaching a tipping point of gentrification where the suburb is now competing with inner-north premium suburbs like Clayfield and Hendra rather than with its northside peers. At $1,682,250 however, Nundah houses are beyond the investment reach of most PropTalk readers.
Nundah units at $790,000 with 21.5% annual growth and a 4.28% gross yield are the accessible version of the same gentrification story. Unit rent growth of 9.2% annually reflects tight rental supply in a suburb where demand from young professionals continues to outpace available stock. The airport rail access is a genuine differentiator for tenants who work in the airport precinct , a stable, growing employment base that will not relocate.
Albion is the most underappreciated suburb in this guide and arguably in Brisbane's entire northside corridor. It sits immediately adjacent to Fortitude Valley and Newstead , two of Brisbane's most sought-after inner-north suburbs with median house prices well above $2 million , yet Albion units remain accessible at $822,500. The RNA Showgrounds precinct on Albion's southern boundary is undergoing long-term urban renewal that is transforming the area from light industrial and showground use into a mixed-use residential and commercial precinct. That renewal is the single most significant property catalyst on the Brisbane northside that most investors have not yet fully priced in.
Albion's unit rent growth of 11.1% annually is the highest of the five northside suburbs in this guide. That rent growth rate reflects tenants actively choosing Albion for its proximity to Fortitude Valley, the Newstead dining and lifestyle precinct, and Albion train station, while paying materially less in rent than they would in the adjacent suburbs. The combination of 4.43% gross yield , the highest in this guide , and 11.1% annual rent growth means Albion's cash flow position is improving faster than any other suburb in this analysis.
Albion house growth of only 7.1% annually versus 19.2% for units reflects the specific character of the suburb's housing stock. The houses are largely older post-war stock with limited owner-occupier gentrification appeal compared to Nundah or Kedron. The unit market is where the investment story sits. New apartment development in the RNA Showgrounds precinct is bringing quality stock to the suburb, but the supply of genuinely investment-grade new build units within walking distance of the train station remains constrained.
Kedron has the highest unit capital growth of the five northside suburbs at 24.6% annually, but also the lowest unit gross yield at 3.82% and the highest true weekly holding cost at $257 per week. That combination reflects a suburb where buyers are paying a growth premium that has outpaced the rental market's ability to keep up. Unit rent growth of 9.1% annually is strong but the 24.6% price growth has compressed the yield below the 4% threshold that the other four northside suburbs exceed.
Kedron sits approximately 7 kilometres north of Brisbane CBD and is characterised by wide residential streets, strong owner-occupier demographics and a family-focused amenity profile including Kedron-Wavell Services Club, Kedron State High School and convenient access to the Gympie Road corridor. The suburb benefits from proximity to the Prince Charles Hospital employment precinct shared with Chermside, but without the high commercial activity of Chermside itself. That makes Kedron more attractive to owner-occupiers and family renters than to the young professional tenant profile that drives strong rental demand in Nundah and Albion.
The honest assessment of Kedron for investment is that the 24.6% unit growth figure is impressive but the 3.82% yield and $257 per week holding cost mean the cash flow position is the weakest of the five suburbs in this guide. Investors who prioritise capital growth above cash flow and are comfortable with a higher weekly out-of-pocket cost will find Kedron compelling. Investors who need the investment to be as self-funding as possible should look at Chermside or Albion first.
Northgate is the quieter, less-discussed neighbour to Nundah and arguably undervalued as a result. The suburb sits on the same Doomben and airport rail line as Nundah, with Northgate train station providing direct CBD access. At $797,000 for units versus Nundah's $790,000, the entry price is almost identical but Northgate has historically attracted less buyer attention and less investor competition , which means less pressure on purchase prices and potentially more negotiating room for buyers.
Unit annual growth of 19.9% and rent growth of 10.8% annually positions Northgate as a strong performer that is being pulled upward by Nundah's repricing on its immediate doorstep. When Nundah houses reach $1,682,250 and units reach $790,000, buyers who cannot afford Nundah search for the next closest suburb on the same rail line , and that is Northgate. That spillover demand dynamic is a structural growth driver that has been visible in the Nundah data for the past two years and is beginning to appear in Northgate's figures.
The 4.05% gross yield and $231 per week holding cost sits in the middle of the five suburbs in this guide. Northgate is not the cheapest entry, not the highest yielding, and not the fastest growing. It is the most consistent and the most underappreciated. Investors who want a suburb with genuine infrastructure access, solid fundamentals and less competition from other investors than its higher-profile neighbours will find Northgate the most straightforward and defensible position in this guide.
What the northside corridor means for investors in 2026
The five suburbs in this guide sit within a 5 to 10 kilometre arc north of Brisbane CBD and share a set of structural investment characteristics that distinguish them from both the inner south and the outer growth corridors. They have genuine infrastructure access , rail lines, major employment anchors and established commercial precincts. They have supply constraints that limit the new development pipeline in the most desirable pockets. And they have a gentrification dynamic that is moving northward from Fortitude Valley and Newstead in a direction that has historically produced sustained multi-year price growth wherever it has appeared in Brisbane.
Five northside suburbs. Unit medians of $780,000 to $822,500. Annual unit growth of 19.2% to 24.6%. Gross yields of 3.82% to 4.43%. True weekly holding costs of $201 to $257 per week as a new build. Unit rent growth of 7.8% to 11.1% annually. Compared to the Brisbane southside guide, northside units offer comparable growth rates, comparable yields, and lower or similar entry prices , with the additional advantage of dual rail access, major employment anchors and a clear gentrification trajectory that is less advanced and therefore has further to run. Investors who have been focused entirely on the southside corridor should look at the northside data carefully before assuming the better opportunity is still in Moorooka and Woolloongabba.
The northside corridor does not have the Cross River Rail catalyst that Woolloongabba and the inner south possess. It does not have the Olympic Games infrastructure investment concentrated in Bowen Hills and the Gabba precinct. Its gentrification story is real but it is further from the CBD than the strongest southside performers. Investors should treat the northside as a strong complementary position alongside or instead of the southside, not as a universally superior alternative to it. The right choice between northside and southside depends on individual suburb fundamentals, available deposit, income level and investment horizon.
The Brisbane northside unit corridor is one of the most overlooked investment positions in Greater Brisbane in 2026. The data supports it clearly. The investor attention has not caught up yet.
Chermside units at $780,000 with 4.33% yield and $201 per week holding cost. Nundah units at $790,000 with 21.5% annual growth and a suburb repricing toward premium inner-north status. Albion units at $822,500 with the highest yield in this guide at 4.43% and the highest rent growth at 11.1%, sitting adjacent to a major urban renewal catalyst that most investors have not priced in. Kedron units growing at 24.6% annually for investors who prioritise capital growth. Northgate units on the same rail line as Nundah at almost the same price with less competition. The five suburbs in this guide collectively represent a broader and more affordable version of the northside investment opportunity than the name recognition of individual suburbs suggests. Investors who have been reading PropTalk's southside guide and assuming that is where the best Brisbane opportunities sit should look at this data carefully before making that assumption.
All suburb data: realestate.com.au median price snapshot June 2025 to May 2026, verified by Oliver Lukin against live listings May 2026. House medians: Nundah $1,682,250, Chermside $1,320,000, Albion $1,350,000, Kedron $1,580,000, Northgate $1,461,000. Unit medians: Nundah $790,000, Chermside $780,000, Albion $822,500, Kedron $816,000, Northgate $797,000. Annual growth, rent and rent growth figures from realestate.com.au suburb profiles, same period. Mortgage repayment calculations: 5.91% p.a. investor variable rate, 30-year P&I, 80% LVR. Stamp duty: Queensland Office of State Revenue investment property rates. True weekly holding cost: rental income minus management fees (8.5%), body corporate ($3,000), rates ($2,700), insurance ($2,000), then offset by mortgage repayments and tax benefit at 34.5% marginal rate including $10,000 annual depreciation. All tax benefit figures assume a new build investment property with full negative gearing retained post-budget. Established property purchased after 12 May 2026 will have negative gearing losses ring-fenced from 1 July 2027. Verify at qld.gov.au/check-a-property-licence for real estate agent licensing. General information only. Not financial advice. Always consult a licensed financial adviser, mortgage broker and registered tax agent before making investment decisions.