"PropTrack Senior Economist, Mr. Moore noted that significant growth is occurring in cities where housing remains more affordable." - Matthew Lapish, Senior Investment Analyst
Bargain-hunting buyers have flocked to the nation’s housing hotspots, where skyrocketing demand for affordable homes has caused property prices to explode.
New data from PropTrack has revealed the suburbs where property values jumped most in 2024, with waves of buyers snapping up homes in Australia’s cheapest suburbs – in turn lighting a rocket under house prices in those areas.
Despite much-anticipated interest rate cuts failing to materialise last year, plenty of value-seeking buyers were still out in force in 2024, especially in suburbs where homes could be purchased for less than $500,000.
Many of those affordable suburbs recorded some of the highest price growth last year, suggesting this year's crop of cheap suburbs could follow suit.
Analysis of several metrics – including annual price growth, buyer demand and how quickly a listed property takes to sell – has uncovered the most sought-after suburbs and the regions that could be next to boom.
The data showed high interest rates have pushed many buyers towards affordable pockets, especially in regional Australia, where it is still possible to purchase a home without committing to eye-watering mortgage repayments.
But the analysis also revealed some surprising locations experiencing a surge in buyer interest, indicating these sought-after suburbs could be in for a big year ahead.
The data uses PropTrack's automated valuation model (AVM) to determine a suburb's median property value.
The suburbs with the biggest jumps in values were mostly found across Perth, Adelaide and regional Queensland, especially Townsville.
PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said Australia's extremely challenged housing-affordability landscape meant buyers were more likely to look in areas where homes were low priced.
“The cities where we’re seeing really strong growth are the more affordable ones,” Mr Moore said.
“Perth and Adelaide in particular have seen double digit growth in the past year, with Perth up nearly 20%.”
“You can expect to see a lot of really strong performing suburbs in more affordable areas, and that’s true even within larger cities as well.”
Where home prices rose the most in 2024
The rapid rise in interest rates in the past three years meant buying a home had become a lot less affordable, Mr Moore said, influencing the areas in which buyers were searching.
“In that environment some buyers will be looking perhaps a bit further afield at more affordable areas and suburbs than they might have otherwise.”
Full article: realestate.com.au