Australia's most sought-after suburbs of 2019 revealed: inner-city neighbourhoods in hot demand

The most in-demand suburbs for property seekers around Australia for 2019 have been revealed, with inner-city suburbs taking the crown, while regional centres also caught house hunters’ eyes.

The Melbourne CBD was the most searched suburb in Australia this year, followed by the inner-Sydney suburbs of Surry Hills, Paddington, Newtown and the Sydney CBD.

Brisbane City, Perth and Adelaide were also among the top 100 searched suburbs on Domain in 2019, new figures show, as were Port Macquarie and Orange in regional New South Wales, and Wodonga and Warrnambool in Victoria.

Byron Bay proved popular among those looking from overseas, ranking among the top 50 suburbs for international searches. However, inner city Melbourne was still the most popular, followed by the well-known Sydney CBD and Brisbane City, then Chatswood – on Sydney’s lower north shore – and Perth.

Here’s where prospective property seekers were most likely to cast their gaze across different parts of the country.

NSW

Mosman, one of Sydney’s most affluent suburbs, is at the head of the top five most-searched suburbs in Sydney. The lower north shore spot was followed by Randwick and Coogee in the city’s east, and Marrickville, Glebe and Balmain in the city’s west.

For those looking to escape the harbour city, Port Macquarie – about four hours north of Sydney  – was the most popular choice, then Orange and Dubbo in the state’s central west and Tamworth in the New England region.

It was no surprise to Tony Dekker of LJ Hooker Port Macquarie, who has worked in the area for some 30 years.

“I’m sitting in my office looking out at the river, and I can see dolphins, you can’t beat it,” he said. “Nothing in Port Macquarie is more than six minutes away.

“When I first came here, it was a place for retirees, you came here to die,” he chuckled. “[But] it’s changed a lot since then, there’s so many people coming into town.”

He said the area’s coastal location between Sydney and Brisbane, great beaches, good schools, university campuses, and infrastructure like hospitals and an airport, had made it increasingly popular over the years – drawing residents from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and regional NSW. He noted the ability for people to work remotely had also pushed more young people to the area in recent years.

Victoria

After the Melbourne CBD, South Yarra, Richmond, Hawthorn and Brunswick were the most in-demand suburbs of 2019. They were followed by St Kilda, Fitzroy, Northcote, Carlton and Prahran, which were all among the top 50 most-searched suburbs in Australia.

Toorak, the city’s most expensive suburb with a median house price of about $3.2 million, fell just short of the top 50 – with a rank of 52.

Sam Nathan, director of Colliers International Residential (Vic), said it was unsurprising given the variety of property price points available in the Melbourne CBD compared to Sydney, and the city’s standing as one of the most liveable in the world.

“I think 10 years ago when both apartment markets were relatively immature, Sydney was known and regarded as the international city … [but a] paradigm shift has definitely happened,” Mr Nathan said. “The city is easy to navigate and has a wonderful mix of retail, culinary, and finance precincts back to back.”

Mr Nathan noted people looking to relocate to Melbourne, often remarked on the city’s similar vibe to New York, and its comparative affordability to Sydney.

Outside of Melbourne, Warrnambool – about a three-hour drive south-west of Melbourne — was the most searched-for area. It was followed by Wodonga, on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, Bendigo north-west of Melbourne, Shepparton to the north-east and Mildura in the north-west of the state on the banks of the Murray River.

Queensland

Brisbane City was the 29th most searched suburb in Australia for 2019, with the next most sought-after Queensland suburb — Burleigh Heads (172) — ranked much further down the list. It was followed by fellow Gold Coast suburbs Surfers Paradise, Southport and Broadbeach, which all made the top 200 nationally.

“In the past few weeks I’ve sold to people from Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay and Brisbane,” said Will West of Lacey West of the Burleigh Heads market. “A lot of our buyers are locals … but we get people from all over purchasing on the coast. They see good value here and can buy something within walking distance of the beach [that they couldn’t afford elsewhere].”

Apart from being picturesque, Mr West said, the laid-back suburb had access to good beaches and surf, was liked by local families and tourists alike, and had seen an increase in good restaurants, cafes, shops and boutiques in recent years.

“There’s not a great deal of property on the market here so [that] could be boosting the amount of searches,” he added.

Within Brisbane, New Farm, the city’s most expensive suburb with a median house price of more than $1.46 million, was the second most popular choice.

Redcliffe, about 30 kilometres north-east of Brisbane’s city centre and Bunderim, Maroochydore, Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast, also proved to be among the most in-demand suburbs in the state.

Western Australia

The Perth CBD (62) was the most-searched suburb in the state, followed by the beachside suburb of Scarborough, and Fremantle to Perth’s south.

The suburbs of South Perth and Subiaco were also among the top spots, as were Mandurah and Bunbury – about an hour and two hours south of Perth respectively.

South Australia

Adelaide was the front runner for South Australia, and scraped into the top 100 nationally – coming in at 96.

Mount Gambier in the south-eastern corner of the state was the second most searched suburb, followed by the beachside suburb of Glenelg in Adelaide, and Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula.

Tasmania

Launceston and Devonport were more sought after than inner Hobart, which was the third most searched suburb in Tasmania.

Ulverstone on the north coast was next, followed by Sandy Bay – Hobart’s most expensive suburb with a median of $890,000 – Riverside, just north-west of Launceston, and Burnie on the north-west coast.

ACT

Kingston, one of oldest suburbs in Canberra, was the most sought-after neighbourhood in the ACT.

The suburb, which abuts Lake Burley Griffin, was followed by the neighbouring suburbs of Braddon and Turner, then the CBD.

Northern Territory

Darwin City was by far the most in-demand suburb in the Northern Territory, with more than double the searches of the next most popular destination – the waterfront suburb of Nightcliff in the city’s north. Almost 90 per cent of searches for property in Darwin City came from interstate or overseas.

Katherine, 320 kilometres south-east of Darwin, was next, followed by Alice Springs and then the town of Tennant Creek – more than a five-hour drive north of Alice.

This story has been updated since publication to reflect that searches were conducted by buyers and renters.