Sprint or marathon? The Australian suburbs where homes sell fastest, and where endurance counts

New PropTrack data shows that in many affordable suburbs with very strong buyer demand and booming price growth, highly competitive conditions mean homes are sold much faster than anywhere else.

Use the interactive below to see how fast homes sell in your suburb.

The data measures days on market, which is the number of days between when a property is listed for sale and when it is sold.

PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said measuring days on market could gauge how strong housing demand was in different suburbs and regions.

“We often used days on market as a bit of indicator of market momentum,” he said. 

“It indicates where homes are being snapped up really quickly.”

A typical Australian home is on the market for 43 days before finding a buyer, although figures differ across the cities and regions.

But the data shows that in some affordable suburbs, strong competition between buyers has resulted in homes selling just days after being listed.

With interest rates remaining high and housing affordability at the worst level in decades, many buyers have shifted their focus to suburbs and regions where homes are cheaper.

“We're seeing a lot of price growth and housing demand in more affordable parts of the country, and within cities,” Mr Ryan said.

“Housing affordability is extremely strained so it is not surprising that those regions that offer affordability are drawing in more buyers.”

Mr Ryan said there was a good balance between demand and supply across the country, meaning days on market were broadly low despite market activity picking up this year.

“There's more homes on the market but homes are still selling pretty quickly,” he said. “Housing demand is strong enough to absorb all the additional housing supply we've seen over 2024.”

Where properties sell the quickest

The fastest selling suburb over the past year was Seville Grove in Perth’s south east, where a home typically sells in just seven days.

With a median house price of $575,000, the suburb is much more affordable than most in Perth, and Australia overall. 

However, strong competition among buyers has pushed prices up by 35% over the past year.

Seven out of the top 10 fastest selling suburbs were located in Perth, mostly in booming regions on the city’s south and south eastern fringe.

Property prices across Perth have risen about 23% in the past year, with a shortage of homes, strong demand for affordable properties and heightened investor activity fuelling growth.

Real estate agent Ben Mathews of Rodway Group said smaller homes on large blocks in the south east were appealing to interstate investors seeking strong rental returns, while larger family homes attracted local interest.

"I put a property on the market yesterday evening at 6:00pm, and it's already received multiple offers $40,000 over asking," he said.

Seville Grove was one of several suburbs in Perth's south east where homes are selling rapidly. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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He said Perth's southwest was an "underrated" area, and despite huge price growth, properties were still affordable.

Outside of Western Australia, one of the country’s fastest selling regions was Townsville, where homes in high demand suburbs where prices were booming typically selling in less than two weeks.

In the city’s fastest selling suburb, Heatley, a typical house was snapped up within eight days. The suburb’s median house price has increased by 14% over the past year to $353,500.

This three-bedroom Heatley house sold for $479,500 in May after just six days on the market. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Houses sold within 10 days in Kirwan and Annandale, 11 days in West End and 12 days in Deeragun, Condon, Rasmussen and Wulguru.

Mr Ryan said the data indicated buyers and investors were searching further afield for affordable properties.

“We saw a huge amount of housing demand for south east Queensland, and that’s pushed up housing prices quickly,” he said. 

“People are now searching for the next affordable location in Queensland.”

“Townsville has been a really strong performer over the past year. You can get a home there for $500,000 with a strong rental yield.”

“It's also benefiting from a big army presence, a big university employer and a lot of flow-on from mining activity.”

Townsville has been pitched as Australia’s “army capital” under last year’s defence shake-up, with an extra 500 troops expected to be posted there from 2025.

This four-bedroom Kirwan house sold in just four days last month, and has since been listed for rent. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Local real estate agent Stephanie Turnbull of Harcourts Kingsberry said market activity was driven by interstate investors attracted by strong rental returns, who were snapping up homes quickly.

“We have too many buyers and not enough houses,” she said.

Ms Turnbull said she was inundated by phone calls every day from investors seeking high yielding properties.

“If you purchase a $450,000 house, you’re looking at about a $500 to $550 rental return,” she said.

Several Cairns suburbs had the among the lowest days on market for units. Picture: Getty

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Many Queensland suburbs were also ranked among the fastest sellers in the unit market, with eight of the top 10 fastest selling suburbs at the national level found in Cairns, the Gold Coast, and Brisbane.

However, units sold fastest in Gosnells in south west Perth, where a typical villa could still be purchased for about $400,000 despite a huge 33% uplift in prices over the past year.

In Sydney, most of the fastest selling suburbs were in the city’s outer south west, with suburbs in the Macarthur region like Currans Hill, Ruse, Raby and Rosemeadow selling within 16 days.

Currans Hill is Sydney's fastest selling suburb, with properties like this four-bedroom house selling in a little over two weeks. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Melbourne’s fastest selling suburb was Carrum Downs in the city's outer south east where houses typically sold in 14 days, followed by Skye at 15 days. 

Properties sold almost as fast in several suburbs of Melbourne’s outer east, such as Upwey, Bayswater North and Belgrave.

Suburbs where homes are now selling faster

The data also tracks how days on market have changed over time, indicating where properties are selling faster or slower than a year ago.

Mr Ryan said a change in days on market was often correlated with price growth.

“If days on market are coming down, it means buyers are more than happy to pay what sellers are asking for, so it means transactions are happening very easily,” he said.

“If days on market are increasing, sellers’ price expectations aren't quite being met and it's taking some time for either sellers to come down to buyers, or buyers to come up sellers.”

Perth suburbs were among those where days on market had reduced the most. 

In northern suburbs such as Butler, Heathridge and Greenwood, it previously took more than a month to sell a house, but properties are now typically sold within about two weeks.

Local real estate agent Josh Douglas of Professionals Northern Coast said there was strong competition between investors and owner occupiers in growth areas on Perth's fringe.

“There's a lot of migration to the northern suburbs of Perth,” he said. “It's definitely a hotspot, and investors are seeing that now.”

This oversized family home in Butler in Perth's north sold in just 9 days earlier this year.

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The data also shows a significant reduction in days on market in several suburbs in Newcastle in New South Wales. 

Houses in suburbs like Kotara, Mayfield and Lambton now sell in about three weeks — about twice as fast as a year ago.

Mr Ryan said Newcastle’s affordability and lifestyle benefits relative to Sydney had caused an increase in demand over the past few years.

Several suburbs of Newcastle had big reductions in days on market, indicating demand has grown. Picture: Getty

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“Newcastle is still the suburban dream,” he said. “You can have a house on a large block and still drive to the beach pretty easily.”

“Newcastle has seen a huge amount of price growth since the pandemic, but this shows demand is really strong.”

Mr Ryan said the fact that auctions were a popular method of sale in Sydney and Melbourne had an “anchoring effect” when it came to days on market, which didn’t fluctuate due to changes in conditions as much as in other cities.

“It doesn't have as much of an effect on Sydney and Melbourne because a lot of sales get bracketed into that four week auction period by default,” he said.

Nonetheless, days on market for units have significantly reduced in several Sydney suburbs such as North Parramatta, Strathfield, Rosebery and Cronulla.

Cronulla units are selling almost twice as fast as a year ago. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Cronulla real estate agent Michael Gleeson of Highland Sutherland Shire and St George said more buyers from out of the area were searching in Cronulla instead of pricier markets in the eastern suburbs or northern beaches.

“I think Cronulla is still undervalued compared to all the other beachside suburbs in Sydney,” he said. 

“It’s accessible with the train to the city, and with a lot of people working from home, it’s a more viable option for a lot of people.”

Meanwhile, days on market for units have halved in several inner Melbourne suburbs such as Clifton Hill and Parkville. 

Suburbs in the city’s west such as Williams Landing and Deer Park and the outer east such as Yarra Glen and Upwey have also had big reductions in days on market for houses.

Where it takes more endurance to find a buyer

The suburbs where homes take the longest to sell were mostly found in the regions, including several remote towns and holiday or tree change hotspots.

In Roxby Downs in outback South Australia, a small town supporting the Olympic Dam mine, it typically takes 254 days, or eight and a half months to sell a house.

It takes about five to six months to sell a house in Eden and Bellingen in NSW, Apollo Bay and Loch Sport in Victoria and Kununurra in WA.

Meanwhile it takes 150 days, or about five months, to sell an apartment in Anna Bay north of Newcastle.

Mr Ryan said it was common for homes in regional areas, especially holiday homes, to take longer to sell than in the capitals, because market activity can often come in ebbs and flows.

It takes about five and a half months to sell a house in Apollo Bay, a holiday hotspot on the Great Ocean Road about two and a half hours southwest of Melbourne. Picture: Getty

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“Suburban houses are a pretty straightforward product,” he said. “But in holiday hotspots, and regional areas in general, homes tend to be a bit more bespoke.”

“It’s not always about price, it’s about finding the right buyer.”