Australia's gold medal winning suburbs: high-achieving property hotspots revealed

These high-achieving suburbs have won property market gold, topping the tables so far this year in the metrics that matter.

In these standout suburbs, demand is higher, properties sell faster and price growth is stronger than anywhere else, PropTrack data shows.

Use the interactive below to see how your suburb has performed this year.

 The data shows that this year, it’s not the nation’s priciest suburbs that won a place on the podium.

Instead, the underdogs have triumphed, with affordable areas dominating the rankings.

This should come as no surprise to property punters watching the market, with a host of economic factors stacking the odds in favour of suburbs where prices are within reach of buyers with modest budgets.

While performance has been strong across much of the country this year, it’s still been a challenging time for buyers stepping up to the plate to enter Australia’s property market, which some would consider our unofficial national sport.

Buyers throwing their hat in the ring have faced the one-two combination of high interest rates and rising prices in most markets, which have stretched affordability. 

The result is that areas where prices are lower and homes offer more value are in high demand.

Many affordable suburbs across the capitals, especially Perth, have recorded some of the strongest house price growth this year. Picture: Getty

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PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said this dynamic has caused prices to rise rapidly, with available properties snapped up quickly.

“With interest rates high and prices continuing to climb, many buyers are finding themselves priced out of more and more suburbs,” she said.

“This is especially the case for first-home buyers who aren’t already in the market and haven't experienced that strong price growth.”

“Those affordable pockets are now attracting a greater pool of buyers because that same pool of buyers is being priced out of a lot more regions.”

“This is intensifying buyer demand in Australia’s more affordable pockets, leading to faster selling times and higher prices.”

Prize-winning price growth

Tracking changes in a suburb’s median house or unit value so far this year reveals the suburbs around Australia that are well ahead of the pack.

The data shows that Perth suburbs made a clean sweep for house price growth over the past six months, taking out all the places in the top 10 at the national level.

Three suburbs in the Kwinana region in Perth’s south — Medina, Parmelia and Orelia  — claimed gold, silver and bronze respectively, with prices growing by about 25% this year so far.

The data, which uses PropTrack's automated valuation model (AVM) to determine a suburb's median house or unit value, shows most of the top suburbs for house price growth had a median value below $600,000, while only one had a median above $800,000.

Perth’s housing market has led the nation for the past few years, with relatively affordable property prices, a tight rental market and strong population growth causing prices to skyrocket.

Ms Flaherty said Western Australia was suffering from a severe shortage of homes, with a huge undersupply of housing relative to population growth.

This three-bedroom house in Parmelia, where prices have gone up 24.7% this year so far, is on the market for offers over $600,000. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

“The number of new homes that were constructed in Perth in 2023 was less than half what was needed to accommodate the population growth over 2023,” she said.

These factors have made Perth a target for investors, who often competed with first-home buyers for the same type of properties, Ms Flaherty said.

“Investor demand in Western Australia has absolutely surged over the past 12 months,” she said.

“The number of new loan commitments in Western Australia to investors has increased by 53% over the past 12 months.”

“Perth is currently seeing the fastest capital growth, and it's also seeing the fastest growth in rent. So not only are investors drawn to capital growth prospects, but they’re also being drawn to very high rental yields.”

“Often investors pick one or the other, but in the case of Perth they're getting both.”

In the unit market, Perth’s Mosman Park and Balga took out gold and silver while Durack in Brisbane’s south west snagged a podium finish, getting the bronze medal. 

Most of the nation’s top 10 suburbs for unit price growth were priced at about half a million dollars or less.

A two-bedroom apartment in this recently-built Mosman Park complex sold for $761,000 last month. Unit values in Mosman Park have surged almost 27% this year. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Looking at the other states, Stafford in Brisbane’s inner north was Queensland’s gold medal winner for house price growth.

Local real estate agent Adam Stefan of LJ Hooker described Stafford as a “Cinderella suburb” because it offered a similar lifestyle to surrounding suburbs like Gordon Park, Alderley and Grange, but houses were typically hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper.

“There’s a lot of people moving into the area wanting to spend money,” he said. “You’ve essentially got people just jumping to the next suburb.”

In Stafford in Brisbane's north, much of the older housing stock is making way for new builds as the character of the suburb changes and younger families move in, pushing up prices. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

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“Over the past 10 years there’s been a huge gentrification. A lot of the older residents have moved out of the area, and you’ve got young families or double income households looking to start a family moving into the area.”

“We’re also seeing a lot of knockdown rebuilds because we don't have those character restrictions that a lot of other suburbs have.”

While Brisbane boasts price growth higher than most other capitals, a smaller Queensland city is punching above its weight.

Median house values in the Townsville suburbs of Rasmussen, Cranbrook and Vincent have grown by more than 15% in 2024 alone.

Prices in several outer Townsville suburbs such as Rasmussen, Cranbrook and Vincent have surged as much as 15% this year, yet still remain relatively affordable. This four-bedroom Rasmussen house sold for $561,000 last month. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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In NSW, suburbs in Sydney’s west dominated the rankings, with Merrylands West claiming gold for house price growth, followed by Guildford West and Guildford.

Prices have gone up by about 11% so far this year in these suburbs, which are now firmly within the million dollar club but still more affordable than Sydney’s median house value of $1.428 million.

Local real estate agent Steven Khawam of LJ Hooker said the owner-occupiers buying into the area were seeking affordable homes in proximity to the Parramatta CBD, while investors were buying to take advantage of high rental yields.

“Some first-home buyers with somewhat generous pockets are coming from suburbs where they’re a bit priced out,” he said. “They would rather buy something very nice for the same price.”

This recently-built five-bedroom Guildford duplex sold for $1.22 million in April. The suburb is increasingly appealing to value-seeking first-home buyers from outside the area, agents say. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Castle Hill in Sydney's north west claimed gold for the state’s strongest unit price growth, while Engadine on the southern fringes took silver. 

But bronze went to Banora Point in the Tweed Shire. It was one of a few suburbs in the northern rivers region achieving notable unit price growth, with sea change favourite Byron Bay coming in at ninth place in the state.

Affordable suburbs in Adelaide’s north claimed a podium finish for South Australia’s strongest house price growth, with half-yearly growth of about 17% building on huge gains that have caused median prices to more than double since the pandemic in some suburbs.

The state’s top suburbs for unit price growth were a little more geographically dispersed across Adelaide, with New Port near Port Adelaide and Norwood and Glenside closer to the CBD taking top honours.

Adelaide’s median home value is now not all that far off Melbourne, where growth has been more subdued. 

Melbourne’s slower rate of price growth means that unlike in other states, Victoria’s winners for house price growth were mostly regional towns, with Rutherglen clinching gold, Merbein claiming silver and Eagle Point taking bronze.

Rutherglen in regional Victoria was the state's top performer, with prices rising 6.7%. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

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Hampton Park and Hallam in Melbourne’s outer east and Echuca on the Murray River were the top Victorian suburbs for unit price growth.

The top performing suburbs in Tasmania, the ACT and NT tended to have lower growth than the other state winners. However, suburbs with notable house price growth included Curtin in Canberra (8.6%), Moulden in Darwin (7.5%) and Margate to the south of Hobart (6.1%)

Dominating for demand

Measuring the level of enquiries per property listing on realestate.com.au reveals the most in-demand suburbs across Australia.

A higher number of enquiries per listing in a suburb typically indicated that a lot of buyers were interested in purchasing properties in that suburb, Ms Flaherty said.

The data reinforces the shift in buyer behaviour towards relatively affordable areas, with outer suburbs topping the lists across most of the capitals.

Tanah Merah in Brisbane’s Logan region had the most enquiries per house listing with a typical property receiving 56 enquiries, while nearby Marsden topped the list for units. 

Local real estate agent and Belle Property Cornubia principal Melinda Lee-Ball said that interest from buyers typically translated to strong sales results, with properties selling quickly after multiple offers.

Properties in Tanah Merah in Brisbane's south, like this leafy three-bedroom house on a large block, receive more enquiries than in any other suburb. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

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Perth’s northern suburbs were also in high demand, with units receiving strong levels of enquiry in suburbs closer to the city, like Osborne Park and Tuart Hill.

Further to the north, houses in Marrangaroo, Greenwood and Karrinyup proved popular with buyers.

In NSW, while largely affordable areas in Sydney’s outer suburbs typically had the most enquiries, pricier suburbs like semi-rural Kenthurst and leafy Wahroonga topped the list for houses, while Peakhurst in the south was most in-demand for units.

Wahroonga in Sydney's north was one of the most in-demand suburbs in NSW. This spacious six-bedroom Wahroonga home sold for $4.55 million in May. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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The most in-demand Melbourne suburbs were largely in the city’s north, including Meadow Heights and Broadmeadows, as well as outer east suburbs like Narre Warren North.

Demand was strong in Adelaide’s north, although the suburbs with the most enquiries were a little closer to the city than those with the highest price growth.

Speedy sellers

Measuring the length of time a property remains on the market before being sold — known as days on market — is another measure of demand, revealing pockets where competition is fierce and properties are sold quicker than elsewhere.

Ms Flaherty said days on market could be a leading indicator for price growth.

“When we see properties sell very rapidly, that is a sign that demand is very intense, so it forces people to act because they need to get that offer in as quickly as possible,” she said.

“That intense competition pushes up prices very rapidly.”

Seville Grove in Perth’s outer south west had the shortest selling time, with houses there selling in seven days. Houses in nearby Camillo and Brookdale sold almost as rapidly.

This three-bedroom house in Seville Grove sold for $651,000 just four days after being listed for sale. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Units sold quickest in Nerang and Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast, as well as two Cairns suburbs, Manunda and Manoora.

In Sydney, suburbs in the Macarthur and Penrith regions tended to have some of the lowest number of days on market in the city, with properties typically selling in a little over two weeks. Units also sold almost as quickly in several suburbs in the Sutherland Shire.

Meanwhile, outer eastern suburbs were among the fastest selling areas in Melbourne.