Property valuer and Mount Isa City Councillor Robbie Katter said due to a lack of availability and the high demand, land prices had been increasing in Breakaway Estate, the city's only rural residential development.

And while he acknowledged it would be a long term and costly initiative, Cr Katter said the allocation of more rural residential land should be looked into.

"It just seems absurd that our greatest asset is land but we don't seem to be using it to our advantage," he said.

The last block of vacant land, out of the 62 available, was sold recently at $280,000 which, according to Cr Katter, was high for what was on offer.

"And that's just the market, people aren't getting ripped off ... that's just proves that the land is in high demand," he said.

"To me it just shows that people want this kind of lifestyle out here and would pay for it."

While Cr Katter believed that a high number of people living in Mount Isa would desire to live on acreage, he said it could also entice people to move here.

"It would be a strategic way to get families making the long term decision to stay," he said.

But Mount Isa Mayor John Molony disagreed.

"I don't think that's going to encourage people to move here," he said.

"It may well be a possibility but most people come out here for the benefit of working at Xstrata mine and lifestyle would come secondary to that."

However, Cr Molony said the matter had potential.

"It hasn't been touched on in council for a while ... but when your talking about rural residential land the cost to extend services is always going to be a problem.

"The further you've got to extend services the more prohibitive it would be."

Cr Katter said he wanted to discuss the issue with Member for Mount Isa Betty Kiernan.