BABINDA, Gordonvale and White Rock are the best places to look for a house if you are on budget and looking for growth, a property report says.

Babinda, at a median price of just under $200,000 comes in as the fourth cheapest place to snap up a bargain in the coastal regions of Queensland, while Gordonvale and White Rock on about $300,000 are also listed in the three most affordable communities within Cairns Regional Council boundaries.

And with capital gains of between 9 and 17 per cent in the last year they are also a good investment, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland report says.

Herron Todd White research director Rick Carr said prices on the south side of Cairns had fallen by 5-10 per cent in the past six months making the area even more attractive.

He said while the more expensive suburbs were holding steady, houses that would have sold in just days back in November were now taking two to three months to sell.

"The market has swung from a seller's to a buyer's market," he said.

The REIQ and Mr Carr may well be on the money if 30-something couple Melanie Schramm and Chris Hill are any guide.

On Saturday, the first-homebuyers looked at a house White Rock, while yesterday they toured one in Gordonvale.

"We have a budget to stick to and prefer to live on the southside," Mr Hill said.

"We have looked at quite a few houses."

While there were parts of White Rock they would not buy in, a house on Progress Rd had caught their attention.

Ms Schramm said it had potential and they were considering it to be their future first home.

REIQ Far North zone chairman Rick Szelpuk said other southside suburbs also had affordable homes for those making their first property plunge.

"There certainly is in lower Bayview Heights and Earlville if you look hard enough," he said. "But in the more upmarket suburbs houses at that price would need some TLC."

Mr Szelpuk said while the market had slowed he was not seeing any major price changes.

However, Jill Croft of Croft Realty said the current economic climate as well as relatively cheap new homes were certainly having an effect on the market, particularly on the sale price of older southside homes.

"With CEC selling house and land packages as low as $299,000 it has affected the established market," she said.

Ms Croft said as result there had been 15-20 per cent drop in many established houses that were selling for over $400,000 only six to eight months ago.

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