Presented by Sherlock Homes Developments
Sitting in the City of Moreton Bay between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, Caboolture once offered one of South East Queensland’s more attainable entry points into the housing market.
That has changed quickly – and dramatically.
According to PropTrack Home Price Index data, Caboolture’s median house price rose from $349,000 in September 2019 to $910,000 in September 2026 – an increase of about 160% in seven years.
For long-term locals, however, the same growth that has made Caboolture more desirable has also made it much harder to buy into the place they call home.
As prices grow, Caboolture locals are looking for homes that will help them enter the market.
Sherlock Homes Developments , a Queensland builder-developer operating across Moreton Bay, has watched that transformation closely.
Co-founder Jack Corbett says much of Caboolture’s appeal comes down to location.
“Location did most of the work,” he says.
Brisbane, Redcliffe, the Glass House Mountains, Caloundra and Brisbane Airport are all within roughly 30 to 45 minutes, giving residents access to both city and coastal lifestyles.
Mr Corbett says that location advantage has become even stronger as services and amenities have expanded.
“We are a convenience generation and the Moreton Bay infrastructure offers lifestyle for people of all ages and families with a wide range of dynamics,” Mr Corbett says.
The area is also preparing for a significant next phase of expansion.
According to the Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, there are 30,000 homes planned for Caboolture West so that it can grow to house an estimated 70,000 people.
This trajectory reflects a broader South East Queensland pattern, with Redcliffe, North Lakes, Burpengary and Narangba also becoming more sought-after as transport links and local amenity have improved. And the turnaround is already visible in the market.
According to PropTrack data, in September 2019, Caboolture house prices were falling 0.3% year-on-year. In September 2026, year-on-year growth had risen to 15.2%.
Between August 2019 and August 2026, the median unit price also climbed from $226,500 to $635,000.
Sherlock Homes Developments is building the new homes locals are searching for in Caboolture.
For many long-term residents, that success has come at a cost.
“They’re being priced out of the suburb they helped make desirable,” Mr Corbett says.
Renters are feeling the squeeze, too.
PropTrack data shows Caboolture’s vacancy rate was 1.24% in September 2026, compared with 0.8% across Moreton Bay and 1.2% across Brisbane metro.
The median rental price for houses was also $650 a week, up 5.7% year-on-year.
“The old answer was to move further north for something cheaper,” Mr Corbett says. “There is no further north.”
Sherlock has not been immune to the same market forces, with its own prices rising about 75% over five years.
“Land, infrastructure, labour and materials, in that order,” Mr Corbett says of the drivers.
“What changed is what it costs to put a home on the ground in this region nowadays has soared,” he says.
Rather than simply passing the full increase on to buyers, Sherlock has absorbed some of that impact.
Mr Corbett says the company’s margins are now lower than they were in late 2019, with Sherlock using a disciplined, high-volume, single-digit-margin model built around long-term trades, predictable costs and limited variations to help keep an attainable entry point open in the Moreton Bay market.
“We’d rather hand a thousand plus families the keys to their new home by 2032 than make a larger return per house but on a much smaller volume,” Mr Corbett says.
Building attainable, well-designed new homes in Caboolture is a priority for Sherlock Homes Developments.
Those economics also influence what gets built.
Mr Corbett explains that three-bedroom townhouses occupy an awkward middle ground: two-bedroom townhouses can fit more dwellings on a site, while four-bedroom lowset homes can carry a higher margin per property.
“The middle market is the least profitable sector to build,” Mr Corbett says.
Yet three-bedroom housing is what Sherlock argues many local families need – and what it is determined to provide in Caboolture. As both developer and builder, the company controls the land and construction, allowing it to deliver a housing type that can otherwise fall through the gap.
That focus is personal for the company’s three founders, who come from working-class and public-housing backgrounds.
“I grew up in an 90m2 commission house, two-and-a-half bedrooms and one bathroom,” Mr Corbett says. “So, I know what high-density living is like and what it takes to build a sustainable community of this product type.”
For Caboolture – where the challenge is no longer whether people want to live there, but whether the local families who have helped shape the community over generations can stay – Sherlock’s three-bedroom townhouse offering is an important part of the housing equation and the area’s continued growth.
Sherlock Homes Developments builds attainable, architecturally designed homes across emerging Queensland communities. The brand stands on honest value: considered design and disciplined delivery, without unnecessary cost. Trades are paid on time, promises are kept and buyers are respected from first enquiry through to handover. Every neighbourhood is planned for connection, liveability and lasting value.
