Coastal towns from Tully in Queensland to Upper Burnie in Tasmania are tipped to be among next year's property hotspots, as house prices in capital cities experience modest falls and upmarket property languishes under the strain of the financial crisis.

In its final property pulse report of the year, RP Data says it expects first-home buyers and investors to look at regional towns such as Tully, in northern Queensland, home of the Golden Gumboot and occasional bizarre UFO sightings (with a median house price of $265,000) and the banana-growing NSW town of Woolgoolga ($330,000).

The Australian