The numbers, in plain English
To rent in Surfers Paradise without housing stress, a household income of about $147,000/year keeps the rent of $850/week at or below 30% of gross income — the standard affordability benchmark. That rent is the official median for a 2-bedroom unit — the most common new lease here (317 bonds lodged). Check your income →
To buy the median home ($435,000) with a 20% deposit of $87k, repayments at 6.2% over 30 years come to about $2,131/month — comfortable on roughly $85,000/year under the same 30% rule. Saving that deposit at $1,500/month takes about 4.8 years, before stamp duty of $14k ($0 for eligible first home buyers). Run your own loan →
That price is an estimate, and probably too low. Unlike the rent above, no government publishes open sale prices for Queensland, so we model it from distance, population and income. Where we can check that model against real sales, it runs about 40% under — so treat this figure, and the deposit and repayments built on it, as a rough scale rather than a number to plan around. How we're fixing this →
Compared to the rest of Queensland, Surfers Paradise is more expensive to buy than 86% of the state's suburbs (state median $360k) and pricier to rent than 96% (state median $434/week). It sits roughly 71 km from the Brisbane CBD as the crow flies.
For investors, the median rent against the median price gives a gross rental yield of about 10.2% before costs. Net yield calculator →
Modelled medians, not valuations — every formula above is documented on our methodology page.
Actual rents lodged here
Bonds lodged, June 2026Unlike the modelled figures above, these are the real median rents from every rental bond lodged with the Queensland RTA in Surfers Paradise — a typical 2-bedroom unit rents for $850/week.
| Bedrooms | Type | Median rent | Bonds lodged |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | unit | $640/wk | 256 |
| 2 | unit | $850/wk | 317 |
| 3 | unit | $1200/wk | 73 |
| 4 | house | $1200/wk | 15 |
Source: Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority (CC BY 4.0), by suburb with at least 5 lodgements per figure. Updated quarterly — see data sources.
Affordability by income
$60k income
Rent ($850/wk)
Over budget
Budget: $346/wk
Buy ($435k)
Repayments are a stretch
$2,086/mo · deposit in ~9.7yr
$90k income
Rent ($850/wk)
Over budget
Budget: $519/wk
Buy ($435k)
Repayments manageable
$2,086/mo · deposit in ~6.5yr
$120k income
Rent ($850/wk)
Over budget
Budget: $692/wk
Buy ($435k)
Repayments manageable
$2,086/mo · deposit in ~4.9yr
Based on 30% gross income rule for rent; 6% p.a. / 30-year P&I loan at 20% deposit for purchase; 15% savings rate for deposit timeline.
Upfront buying costs
| Purchase price | $435k |
| 20% deposit (no LMI) | $87k |
| Stamp duty (Queensland) | $14k |
| Stamp duty (first home buyer) | $0 |
| Conveyancing (est.) | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Building inspection (est.) | $400 – $700 |
| Total upfront (est.) | $103k |
Who lives here & what's nearby
Real figures for Surfers Paradise — measured, not modelled.
How Surfers Paradise compares
- Fewer owners than most of Queensland — 55% own their home, against a 69% median.
- 41% of homes here are rented, against 25% across Queensland — a rental market.
Demographics and tenure from the ABS 2021 Census; the socio-economic score is the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative disadvantage, scaled 0–100 against every Australian postcode; distances and school counts from OpenStreetMap. Comparisons are against the median suburb in Queensland. Suburb-level price trends aren't shown because no open source publishes them reliably yet — see our data sources.
What's around Surfers Paradise
Real places nearby — the little things that make a suburb feel like home.
- Austin Gilchrist Park200 m
- Stanhill Park300 m
- Appel Park400 m
- Lionel Perry Park400 m
- The 4217600 m
- iFLY800 m
- Centrepoint Health Club900 m
- Surfers Paradise SLSC900 m
- Surfers Paradise Lifeguard Centre1.4 km
Places within about 3 km, from OpenStreetMap contributors — distances as the crow flies. Something missing or moved? Tell us.
Get to know Surfers Paradise
Real places to see and hear what living here is actually like.
Neighbourhood at a Glance
Indicative scores based on ABS Census data modelling. Always conduct your own research.
Related reading
Government schemes that may apply
First Home Guarantee (FHBG)
Buy with as little as 5% deposit, no LMI. Up to 35,000 places/year nationwide.
Learn more →First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)
Queensland offers a grant for eligible first home buyers purchasing new builds. Amounts vary.
Learn more →First Home Super Saver (FHSS)
Save up to $50k inside super (taxed at 15% instead of marginal rate), then withdraw for a deposit.
Learn more →Stamp duty concessions
A first home buyer pays no transfer duty at all on Surfers Paradise's median of $435,000 — a saving of $13,650 against the standard rate.
That median is modelled, not observed, and our modelled prices run low — treat the duty figure as indicative.
Learn more →Nearby suburbs in Queensland
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Rent data for Surfers Paradise sourced from the ABS 2021 Census, scaled by rental CPI to current values. Calculations use 30% gross income rule, 20% deposit, 6% p.a. loan rate over 30 years. Not financial advice.