You can still buy a home in this small mining town for less than $250k, but not for long (2024)

When Desolee and Russell Cowley were looking to buy a new property, the small central Queensland town of Mount Morgan was not on their radar.

But one Saturday morning they had an hour to spare between open homes nearby in Rockhampton and the real estate agent suggested they have a look at a potential property.

They bought it on the spot.

"It was just so peaceful," she said.

It did not have a shed on it, which was a main feature they were looking for. But it was on two hectares and, for the cheap selling price, they still had room in the budget to add one.

Property prices on the rise

Up in the hills, a 30-minute drive from the city of Rockhampton, lies the sleepy old gold mining town of Mount Morgan.

For the past few decades it has been a quiet little township but, in recent years, it has seen growth as more people make the lifestyle change.

It comes as buyers are being priced out of the property market in larger towns.

The median house in Mount Morgan is now $210,000, according to PropTrack data in June 2024, having grown from $95,000 in 2019.

But despite 121 per cent growth it is ranked as the 13th most affordable suburb for houses in Queensland, according to PropTrack.

Ms Cowley had noticed the growth in the four years she had lived in the area.

"I'm seeing a lot of places getting done up," Ms Cowley said.

"Every day we drive through town, we see another house with a change.

"There are people cleaning up yards, there are people painting houses, there are people doing renovations."

The Cowleys bought their home in late 2020 for $218,000.

"I know my husband and I could probably borrow a lot more money than we have, but why would you want to?" Ms Cowley said.

"Why are we putting every single cent into the home we own?

"A young couple in Rocky is probably looking at $600,000 for a house … that's big repayments."

A smaller mortgage has meant they have a better lifestyle and extra money to do the things they want, like going to the speedway and travelling.

"We're setting ourselves up for retirement and we don't have to stress," Ms Cowley said.

"We have a really good-sized mortgage and we're excited about the future now and we love our house."

Mine coming back online

Mount Morgan was founded as a town around the mine in 1882.

The mine was Queensland's most productive gold and copper mine before closing completely in 1990.

Operations have slowly begun at the site, but Mount Morgan-based senior sales agent Angela Douglas said a lot of her buyers did not even know the mine was coming.

She believed the interest was coming from an overall shortage of housing and the perception of the old town slowly changing.

"For a long time it had this image 'you don't want to live in Mount Morgan … It's a little bit backwards'," Ms Douglas said.

"And now people are realising it's a nice little town."

When Ms Cowley moved to Rockhampton she also found people would say "you don't want to move to Mount Morgan".

"I used to think 'what is so bad about Mount Morgan?'" she said.

But once moving to the town, Ms Cowley was blown away.

"I didn't realise how many beautiful things there are in Mount Morgan. The dam is just amazing," she said.

"It's got everything that you want and you're within a hop, skip and a jump from Gracemere shops or Rocky if you really want to."

Long-time resident and community advocate John Steinberger said property prices had led to a lot of positives around town.

"The impact is [people] spend more and people are more content, and you'll see that everywhere around the town," he said.

"Definitely the prices are cheaper than Rockhampton, it always has been. But it's a catch-up now.

"We've always said this is a place to live, up in the hills here, the quiet lifestyle and relaxed rural setting."