A Buyer's Guide to 18 Makoo Close and the White Rock Market

Prepared by Jeff Rufino | #1 Agent in White Rock 2025 0411 530 910 | jeffreyrufino.com.au | May 2026

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There is a moment when you drive into White Rock for the first time and something just settles.

Maybe it is the way the mountains sit behind the rooflines. Maybe it is the breeze that finds you before you have even stepped out of the car. Maybe it is the fact that it still feels like a neighbourhood — not a development, not a project, not a brand. Just a real place where real people live.

I know that feeling because I live here. I have raised my family here. I have sold homes on these streets for years. And every week I watch buyers walk through properties in White Rock and feel it happen — that quiet shift from looking to belonging.

This guide is for anyone who is serious about buying in White Rock. It covers the property at 18 Makoo Close, everything that has sold recently, everything currently on the market, and the full picture of where this suburb is heading. No spin. Just the information you need to make a decision you will feel good about for years.

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THE PROPERTY: 18 MAKOO CLOSE, WHITE ROCK

Offers over $599,000 3 bedrooms | 1 bathroom | 1 carport | 811m² block

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This home will not appeal to everyone. And that is actually the point.

It needs work. The price reflects that. But what the price does not reflect — what you cannot put a number on — is the position. Set high on the close, elevated above the street, with mountain views from the front patio and an afternoon breeze that rolls in every single day. That is not something you can renovate into a flat block somewhere else. You either have it or you do not. This one has it.

The layout is practical. Open-plan living that is spacious, air-conditioned, and positioned to catch the outlook from the front of the home. A large kitchen with plenty of cupboard space and room to update it in your own style — whether you keep it simple or go all in. Three bedrooms, all with built-in wardrobes and air-conditioning. A bathroom with a bath and a separate toilet. A laundry. A rear patio. A garden shed. A fenced front and side yard with terraced garden beds that are waiting for someone with a vision.

The bones are good. The position is strong. The upside is real.

For a first-home buyer, this is the entry point that gets you into White Rock — on a full 811m² block, with views, at a price that accounts for the work ahead. For a tradie, this is the project that pays you back. For a renovator, this is the blank canvas with a mountain backdrop. For an investor, the rental appraisal sits at $635–$675 per week, which puts the estimated gross yield at approximately 5.5–5.9% at the asking price — in a suburb with a 1.0% vacancy rate.

The building report is done. The pest report is done. The seller disclosure is signed. All three are available on request. There are no surprises being hidden here.

Council rates are approximately $1,679 per half year. Electric hot water. Dishwasher included. Compliant smoke alarms and safety switch installed.

When you walk through this home, try to look past what it is right now and see what it becomes. Because in White Rock, at this price point, on this size block, with these views — that is a question worth sitting with.

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Look at those numbers. White Rock is not a cheap suburb anymore. It is a suburb that has been discovered — and the buyers who moved early are the ones sitting on the gains right now.

 

 

WHAT IS CURRENTLY FOR SALE

Here is everything active on the market in White Rock as of May 2026, so you can see exactly where 18 Makoo Close sits.

WHAT IS CURRENTLY FOR SALE IN WHITE ROCK

 

1. 8-10 Johnson Road, Offers over $1,550,000, 4 bed, 2 bath, 6 car, 1.57 acres
2. Address on request, $1,400,000, 5 bed, 3 bath, 2 car, New construction
3. Address on request, From $1,061,500, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, Modern
4. Address on request, $1,039,000, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, Turnkey
5. Address on request, $929,950, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car
6. Address on request, $909,900, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, Investor product
7. 60 Hollywood Boulevard, Offers over $850,000, 5 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 838m²
8. 20 Makoo Close, Offers in the mid-$800,000s, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 811m²
9. Lot 2042 New Road, $845,540, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, New house and land
10. Address on request, From $875,450, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, Newly built
11. 60 Leftwich Street, Offers over $759,000, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 600m²
12. 19 Disney Street, Offers over $750,000, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, 600m²
13. 11 Aruma Close, Contact agent, 3 bed, 1 bath, 6 car, 1,126m²
14. 18 Makoo Close, Offers over $599,000, 3 bed, 1 bath, 1 carport, 811m²
15. 21 Idaho Close, Offers over $590,000, 3 bed, 1 bath, 2 car, 700m²
16. 14 Universal Close, Offers over $599,000, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car, 800m²
17. 192/67-79 Kambara Street, $525,000–$600,000, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car, Trinity Links Resort
18. 10 Malibu Close, Now under contract, 5 bed, 2 bath, 800m²
19. 44/43-47 Skull Road, Under offer, 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car

18 Makoo Close is one of only two 3-bedroom homes under $600,000 currently available in the suburb. The other is a 2-bedroom on a smaller block. On an 811m² block with views, it sits alone at its price point.

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THE MARKET IN NUMBERS

Median house price: $657,000–$659,500 — up 20–21% in the past 12 months Median unit price: $501,850–$530,000 — up 25% in the past 12 months Median days on market: 31 days — 3-bed homes average 34 days Stock on market: 0.23% — critically low Total inventory: 2.75 months — a balanced market sits at 6 Vacancy rate: 1.0% Median weekly rent: $638 — up from $597 last year Gross rental yields: 5.16–5.32% for houses — up to 6.2% for some units Owner-occupancy: 62% — renters: 36%

When stock is this tight, buyers do not get to be leisurely. The homes that tick the boxes go. The ones left behind usually have a reason.

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WHAT IS COMING TO THE AREA

The Mount Peter Priority Development Area was formally declared on 30 July 2025. It spans 2,650 hectares in the Southern Growth Corridor and is planned to deliver over 18,500 homes for a projected population of 42,500 people. The Queensland and Australian Governments have committed $2.4 billion through the Infrastructure Activation Fund, with a target of 13,145 new homes unlocked by 30 June 2034.

In April 2026, Cairns Regional Council submitted a $58.9 million infrastructure package application for trunk water, sewer upgrades, and intersection improvements at Mount Peter Road — expected to unlock up to 2,400 new lots.

Bruce Highway upgrades between White Rock and the Cairns CBD are ongoing. Several completed stages have already reduced commute time to approximately 10–15 minutes.

Here is the honest read on what this means. The infrastructure investment is real and it will support long-term population growth across the South Side corridor. It will also bring new housing supply over the next decade. Buyers and investors who act in the current window are moving while stock is at historic lows. Those who wait will be buying into a more competitive, more supplied market.

The window is open right now. It will not stay that way.

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ABOUT WHITE ROCK

White Rock sits in the southern corridor of Cairns, 10–15 minutes from the CBD. Population of approximately 4,918 residents in the suburb, with 8,376 across the broader statistical area. Average household size of 2.6 people.

82.8% of dwellings are separate houses. 14.1% townhouses. 3.1% apartments. This is a suburb of homes — not high-rises, not holiday lets. People own things here. They maintain them. They care about their street.

Close to Mount Sheridan Plaza, local schools, parks, sporting fields, public transport, and Woree amenities. The professional workforce share grew 11.5% between 2016 and 2021 — outpacing the Queensland state average of 7.9%. Skilled workers are moving in and staying.

The lifestyle is the thing people do not fully account for until they are living it. The mountains do not move. The breezes do not stop. The community does not disappear. Those things hold their value in a way that no market report can fully capture.

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IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT SELLING

You are reading this because you searched for White Rock property. Which means you are engaged with this market. Which means there is a reasonable chance you own something here — or you are thinking about it.

So let me speak directly to you for a moment.

The market is producing strong results. But strong results do not happen by accident. They happen when a property is prepared properly, photographed professionally, marketed aggressively, and handled by an agent who knows who the buyers are before the listing even goes live.

That is what I do.

Every listing I take to market gets professional photography and video — because the first showing happens online, and poor photos are the single biggest reason good homes underperform. Every property goes live across realestate.com.au, Domain, my personal website, and social media channels including community Facebook groups with tens of thousands of engaged local residents. I run a live database of qualified buyers and I call them directly when something relevant hits the market.

I also live here. I know which buyers are looking. I know what they will pay. I know how to position a home so it attracts the right people fast — not just any offer, but the right offer, on the right terms.

If you are thinking about selling in White Rock, Mount Sheridan, Bentley Park, or Edmonton, I would like to have a conversation. Not a pitch. A conversation. Tell me about your property. I will tell you what I honestly think it is worth and what it would take to get there.

Call me on 0411 530 910 or find me at jeffreyrufino.com.au.

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Jeff Rufino #1 Agent in White Rock 2025 | Inspire Real Estate Cairns I live here. I sell here. I get results. 0411 530 910 | jeffreyrufino.com.au Shop 1, 101–110 Brinsmead Road, Brinsmead QLD 4870 | 4242 5939

 

Market data sourced from realestate.com.au, HtAG Analytics, property.com.au, and Cairns Regional Council. May 2026.