QLD · HOUSING DATA
Reported rents and buying prices, with the dates and coverage you need to interpret them.
All units (apartment / unit views) rent. Apartment and unit selections share the same all-units rent series; neither is an apartment-specific measurement.
Vacancy source period: 2026-08. Annual rent change uses the combined SQM rent series; annual buy change uses houses. Missing measurements are excluded from calculations. Checking a source does not change its observation date.
THE HEADLINE
Weekly asking rent
$505/wk
All units (apartment / unit views)
Asking buy price
$494K
All units (apartment / unit views)
Vacancy
0.6%
Landlord's market · 2026-08
Annual rent change · combined SQM series: +3.6%
Annual buy change · houses: +0.5%
Rent 22 Sep 2026 · Postcode 4870 only — not all of CairnsBuy SQM Research · asking price · 25 Sep 2026. Asking prices are not achieved sale prices.
MARKET SIGNALS
Rental pressure
Landlord's market
0.6% vacancy · 2026-08
Rent momentum
Warming
+3.6% annual · combined rent series
Source geography and dates apply; these signals are not specific to the selected property type. Missing measurements have no heat classification.
PRICE HISTORY
SQM monthly history averages weekly asking observations; it is not a monthly median. ABS history shows quarterly median sold prices. Rent and buy histories retain their own periods and coverage. Rent: 22 Sep 2026. SQM Research · asking price · 25 Sep 2026. Asking prices are not achieved sale prices.
WHERE TO NEXT
CONTINUE EXPLORING
Source coverage varies by postcode. Every link opens its area details.
WEEK ENDING 22 SEP 2026
In postcode 4870, Cairns, houses are asking $741 a week and units $505 a week, according to SQM Research for the week ending 22 Sep 2026. Combined house and unit asking rents are up 3.6% on a year ago. Over the past year the monthly average house asking rent moved from $733 in Oct 25 to $743 in Sept 26.
The rental vacancy rate was 0.6% in Aug 2026, which this site classes as “Landlord's market”. Lower vacancy generally means more competition for each listing.
Across 5 councils, the lowest average house asking rents are in Tablelands ($561), Mareeba ($611) and Yarrabah ($652), and the highest in Douglas ($823). See every Cairns council ranked.
Keeping a typical Cairns house rent to 30% of income takes about $2,470 a week after tax, or $1,690 for a unit. Work out what rent fits your income.
Postcode 4870 only — not all of Cairns. One postcode does not describe the whole city; use the council map for local areas.
In postcode 4870, Cairns, houses are asking $741 a week and units $505 a week, according to SQM Research for the week ending 22 Sep 2026. These are average advertised rents across all houses and all units, not signed leases.
Combined house and unit asking rents are up 3.6% on a year ago. The house series went from $733 in Oct 25 to $743 in Sept 26.
By average house asking rent across each council’s postcode sample: Tablelands ($561 a week), Mareeba ($611 a week), Yarrabah ($652 a week). Rents vary widely between suburbs inside a council, so check the suburbs you are considering.