Australia’s hottest markets in the latest quarter

Property expert, Terry Ryder, has tracked down the locations around Australia which have experienced strong growth over the three months to August 2021.

There are many measures of the intensity of the nationwide real estate boom, including the dramatic uplift in sales activity and the speed with which properties are selling.

But nothing depicts the heat in the market more than the extraordinary increase in values in a short time frame. It’s common to find suburbs and towns which have recorded double-digit growth in their median house prices in the past quarter alone.

Price increases above 10% would be considered strong if they occurred over 12 months, but currently, this is happening in just three months. Indeed, the most spectacular performers have achieved median house price growth above 20% in the latest quarter.

It’s not just the elite city suburbs achieving exponential rises – they’re also occurring in some of our distant country towns. And many of the places showing big uplift are regional lifestyle areas not far from the state capitals. These and other regional locations are receiving massive buyer demand through the strongest trend impacting Australian real estate – the “Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle”.

Let’s take a look at some of the locations around Australia that have experienced strong growth in the three months to the end of August.

Sydney

One of Sydney’s icons, Bondi Beach, has had a 21.1% rise in its median house price to $3,665,000 over three months, while neighbouring Bondi Junction has risen 17.5% to $2,455,000. This is happening on the back of a massive increase in buyer demand over the past six to nine months.

Not far away, the median price for South Coogee has jumped 18.9% to $3,330,000.

The median price in Narrabeen, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches precinct, has increased by 22.4% in three months hitting $3,200,000.

This reflects ongoing strong demand in the prestige areas of Sydney, notwithstanding all the COVID-related issues the city has been dealing with.

Regional NSW

In regional New South Wales, the town of Cobar has experienced a 26.0% rise in three months – but from a low base, with the median house price just $150,000, despite the recent uplift.

As mentioned earlier, some of the places showing big uplift are regional lifestyle areas not far from the state capitals. Examples include Berry in the Shoalhaven precinct, where the median house price has risen 19.6% to $1,220,000 in three months. Nearby in the Wollongong area, Bulli has increased 17.8% to $1,355,000 and Fairy Meadow is up 15.9% to $950,000.

Brisbane

In some of the sought-after precincts of Brisbane, Hawthorne has increased 15.9% to $1,345,000 and Sherwood is up 19.3% to $1,095,000 in the most recent quarter.

Regional Queensland

In the far west of Queensland, the town of Longreach has seen its median house price rise by 15.3% to $205,000. In the Mount Isa suburb of Soldiers Hill, the median price has risen 18.0% to $295,000 in the latest quarter.

The Gladstone market in Central Queensland is recovering after a long slump, with the suburb of Glen Eden increasing by 16.5% to $320,000.

Gold Coast

On the Gold Coast where big price growth has become the norm, the median for Bundall has increased 20.4% to $1,270,000, while Mermaid Waters is up 15.0% in the latest quarter to $1,115,000.

Sunshine Coast

On the Sunshine Coast, another boom market, Dicky Beach has increased 16% to $1,085,000 and Woombye is up 15.0% to $635,000.

Regional Victoria

Many of the suburbs of the Mornington Peninsula on the southern fringe of Melbourne have had extraordinary price growth, led by McCrae where the median has jumped 19.8% in three months to hit $1,150,000.

Regional Tasmania

The remote Tasmanian village of Queenstown still has a median price of just $125,000, despite an 18.1% quarterly increase. Another Tassie regional location, George Town, has increased 15% to $255,000.

Regional South Australia

Outside Adelaide, the town of Middleton has lifted 15.7% to $645,000 and Kingscote on Kangaroo Island is up 16.5% to $280,000.

Regional Western Australia

In the Great Southern region of Western Australia, the town of Mount Barker has jumped 22.1% in the latest quarter, taking its median house price to $275,000. The remote East Pilbara mining town of Newman has recorded an 18.8% increase to $285,000 (but remains well short of the heady days of the resources investment boom from 2012 to 2014 when houses fetched above $800,000 in Newman).

Darwin

Darwin has attracted a high level of demand, thanks to its relative affordability, warm climate and strong control of the pandemic – and the popular suburb of Rapid Creek has experienced an 18.9% increase in three months to $660,000.

This sample of locations with exceptional price rises shows that the boom is widespread, both geographically and in terms of price points – from small remote country towns to the ritzy suburbs of our largest cities.

Cover image source: Yunsun_Kim/Shutterstock.com

About Terry Ryder

Terry is the founder and Managing Director of hotspotting.com.au, which he created in 2006 to help investors find the best places to buy. Terry has been a specialist researcher and writer on Australian residential property in a career spanning four decades. During that time he has published four books.

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