Star Brisbane cricketer finds home in suburb with shocking popularity rise

Aussie cricketer Nicola Hancock has found a new home in Deagon — and she plans to place new roots in the suburb as it turns into Brisbane’s top lifestyle hub.

“I’ve had my eye on the Brighton, Sandgate, Deagon area for probably a good 24 months,” she said.

“I’m a really big lover of the water and I find it peaceful out there. It almost feels like a small country town.”

Queensland Fire and Brisbane Heat cricketer Nicola Hancock has bought a house in Deagon for herself and her dog Hansen. Picture: Adam Head

Hancock plays for both the Queensland Fire and the Brisbane Heat across two cricket leagues, and was awarded Players Player in the 2024-25 Women’s National Cricket League.

The allrounder spent her free time this year searching for a house of her own in the growing coastal area.

Deagon was recently named number eight in the top 10 Southeast Queensland property markets for lifestyle and growth — the only Brisbane suburb amid a range of Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast areas.

The list was made by MCG Quantity Surveyors using SuburbTrends data, comparing beach access, natural environment, urban amenities and family-friendliness across different Aussie locations.

Hancock said she was only able to afford a house on her own thanks to the growing equity from her townhouse, which spiked in price by around $250,000 over two years. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Hancock’s career in sports helped her buy a townhouse in Boondall for $502,000.

In the three years she lived there, she saw the home’s value increase by around $250,000, allowing her to buy her Deagon house for a little under $1 million.

“I’m a sole buyer,” she said. “I’m completely aware that I’m in a fortunate position, that I can afford a house based off the profit I made off the townhouse … I wouldn’t have been able to afford it [otherwise].”

Deagon features a median listing price of $650,000, and sits approximately 20km from the CBD.

“I found it really peaceful,” Hancock said. “It’ll be about a 20 minute drive for me to get to the cricket.”

A Deagon home recently under offer. Deagon was just named Brisbane’s best lifestyle suburb for homeowners, ranked by access, natural environment, urban amenities and family-friendliness.

Ray White Nundah agent Connor Lennon said the tightly-held suburb had seen a big rise in younger buyers in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“If you look at the demographic of who made up Deagon prior to Covid, you saw a lot of older couples and families who lived there for quite some time,” he said.

“What you’re starting to see are younger families coming into the area. And with that a lot of money is coming in … they’re purchasing these properties, but they’re not knocking it down, they’re renovating them to keep that character.”

With new shopping hubs and a prestigious private school only a few kilometres nearby, Mr Lennon said the suburb was now often seeing 30 to 50 groups coming through a house during a three-week campaign.

Deagon’s older demographic is slowly moving out, with younger families buying into the area and growing the community. Picture: Adam Head

Hancock said she knew the suburb would be out of her price range before too long, and wanted to get into the market before she was locked out.

“There’s obviously a massive benefit in having a house and land, and something we want to be living in for a long time,” she said. “I had heard that Deagon was a little rough 10 or 5 years ago, but with every semi-rough place, it’s gonna start pushing people out when there are attributes to it like the beach.”

“I think it also has a really good balance between city and lifestyle, if you enjoy the peace and quiet of the water … just a really nice, wholesome community, is what I feel like it’s growing into.”

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