Record-breaking suburb sales where prices have more than tripled
Benn Dorrington, Property Journalist
First published 09 July 2024, 01:32 PM
Tree change-style properties and potential development sites dominated the top 10 sales that smashed previous suburb records across the country during the 2023-24 financial year, according to PropTrack data.
PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said the record-breaking sales highlighted the attractiveness of affordable areas around the country.
“These are mostly expensive homes in relatively affordable and accessible areas across the country, and the weight of demand has pushed towards that,” Mr Ryan said.
“The value of large homes is still elevated. There’s been this big shift in how people value homes, and lifestyle blocks and lifestyle locations command a higher premium than they did before the pandemic.”
The top record-breaking sale last financial year was a renovated church and private cemetery in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia.
The renovated chapel at 778 Nairne Road set a new record for Hay Valley in South Australia. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The three-bedroom renovated church at 778 Nairne Road in Hay Valley fetched $915,000 last December, more than tripling the suburb’s previous record sale of $265,000.
Selling agent Damon Brohier from Ray White - Mount Barker said the owners had carefully transformed the historic church, which had been built circa 1860, into an inviting family home.
The church conversion divided buyer opinion according to agent, Damon Brohier. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold.
“The vendors bought the property years ago and had completed some amazing renovations and extensions to the place to bring it up to scratch,” Mr Brohier said.
Top record-breaking suburb sales in the 2023-24 financial year
| Address | State | Sale price | Previous record | Record price change |
| 778 Nairne Road, Hay Valley | SA | $915,000 | $265,000 | 245% |
| 197 Tippett Road, Chain Of Ponds | SA | $1,150,000 | $510,000 | 125% |
| 1/55 Picketts Valley Road, Picketts Valley | NSW | N/A | $2,120,000 | N/A |
| 95 Fairfield Street, Yennora | NSW | $3,550,000 | $1,681,000 | 111% |
| 203-211 Thagoona Haigslea Road, Mount Marrow | QLD | $1,200,000 | $635,000 | 89% |
| 63 Reynolds Road, Wattle Glen | VIC | $3,380,000 | $1,950,000 | 73% |
| 181 Esplanade, South Brighton | SA | $6,375,000 | $3,709,000 | 72% |
| 64 Kittyhawk Crescent, Raby | NSW | $2,330,000 | $1,360,000 | 71% |
| 9 Bendigo Avenue, Elwood | VIC | N/A | $10,000,000 | N/A |
| 39 Fishhawk Road, Stake Hill | WA | $2,100,000 | $1,330,000 | 58% |
“The market had a love-hate relationship towards the property at the time.
“People either really loved it and it was perfect for them, or people were creeped out by the cemetery."
For some buyers the cemetery was a little too close for comfort. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The home featured three bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as polished concrete floors, heritage doors and gothic windows.
Hay Valley is a relatively quiet area outside of the township of Nairne, and was a desirable pocket in the Adelaide Hills, according to Mr Brohier
The second biggest record-busting sale in Australia was a hobby farm about 30km north of Hay Valley.
The sale price of 197 Tippett Road more than doubled the previous record in Chain Of Ponds. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The four-bedroom homestead at 197 Tippett Road in Chain Of Ponds sold for $1.15 million in March, more than doubling the previous suburb record of $510,000.
The home was surrounded by grape vines, olive trees, fruit trees and room to add more, as well as bore water, water tanks and sheds.
Selling agent Ashley Palazzo from LJ Hooker Property Specialists said the 4.95ha property and its location about 30km from the Adelaide CBD was attractive to buyers.
“It’s a really good-sized block with different hobby farm activities, including wine making, shedding and scope for other activities,” Mr Palazzo said.
“It did need some work done to it, but it was the perfect property for someone looking to be close enough to the city but still have that country feel and have the opportunity to do whatever they wanted to do on it.
“One of the highest buyer demands now is having some land, whether it’s acreage or close enough to it, without having to go too far out.”
Mr Palazzo said Chain of Ponds was a lesser-known area that was situated between Adelaide’s outer suburbs and charming country towns throughout the Adelaide Hills.
The third and fourth largest record-breakers were in NSW, led by a beachside acreage property located in the Central Coast region.
The five-bedroom home at 1/55 Picketts Valley Road set a new sale price record for Picketts Valley in May. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The five-bedroom lifestyle property at 1/55 Picketts Valley Road in Picketts Valley was sold for an undisclosed price in May, with selling agent Kyle Brand declining to comment on the sale.
However, PropTrack data said the sale price smashed the suburb’s previous record price of $2.12 million.
In the outer Sydney suburb of Yennora, the 4,708sqm block at 95 Fairfield Street fetched $3.55 million in May, more than doubling the suburb’s record of $1.681 million.
The 4,708sqm block at 95 Fairfield Street, Yennora fetched $3.55 million in May. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The property had a three-bedroom brick veneer home on the block, but the site was advertised towards developers and investors given its size and location 29km from Sydney’s CBD.
In Queensland, the $1.2 million sale of 203-211 Thagoona Haigslea Road set a new benchmark for the rural suburb of Mount Marrow in the Ipswich region.
The four-bedroom family home and its 3.46ha block sold for almost twice as much as the suburb’s previous record of $635,000.
Mount Marrow's new top sale price is $1.2 million after the sale of 203-211 Thagoona Haigslea Road. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Selling agent Georgia Greet from Ray White – Ipswich said the Mount Marrow home was an appealing lifestyle acreage property.
“The home was really well looked after, the property was well manicured, and the land was quite beautiful and usable," Ms Greet said.
“A lot of buyers are interested in the area because there is a lot of development planned and coming, and the location is close to the Warrego Highway.
“We’ve found that five to 10-acre properties are quite sought after because they are small enough for a family to maintain, and they are not going to require too much work like a full acreage property would.”
Records tumbled in the outer Sydney suburb of Raby with the sale of the four-bedroom house at 64 Kittyhawk Crescent in January.
The $2.33 million sale of 64 Kittyhawk Crescent set a new benchmark in the outer Sydney suburb of Raby. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The spacious home and its 4,058sqm plot sold for $2.33 million, besting the suburb’s former benchmark sale price of $1.36 million.
Adelaide’s South Brighton – about 15km from the CBD – also set a new record.
The four-bedroom home at 181 Esplanade in Adelaide's South Brighton fetched $6.375 million in April. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The four-bedroom home at 181 Esplanade traded hands for $6.375 million in April, up from the prior suburb record of $3.709 million.
There were two new suburb records in Victoria to make the list, led by Melbourne’s northeast suburb of Wattle Glen.
Wattle Glen's new record sale price is $3.38 million following the purchase of 63 Reynolds Road. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The 12.22ha property at 63 Reynolds Road secured a $3.38 million sale price in July last year, surpassing Wattle Glen’s previous record of $1.95 million.
Melbourne’s inner-city beachside suburb of Elwood also gained a new top price with the sale of 9 Bendigo Avenue in February.
The five-bedroom residence at 9 Bendigo Avenue set a new sale record in Melbourne's Elwood neighbourhood. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The five-bedroom home’s sale price wasn’t disclosed and the selling agents weren’t available for comment, but the home was understood to have overtaken the suburb’s previous record of $10 million.
The only Western Australian suburb to make the cut was Stake Hill – a small community northeast of Mandurah.
The $2.1 million sale price of 39 Fishhawk Road exceeded Stake Hill's former $1.33 million benchmark sale result. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The four-bedroom home and its 3.46ha block at 39 Fishhawk Road was purchased for $2.1 million in September last year, exceeding the previous record of $1.33 million.
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