Australia's top 5 money-maker suburbs: the city, the surf and the country areas making millions
Five suburbs in Australia have grown in price by at least 40 per cent over the past 12 months, defying the broader slowdown trend the rest of the market has been experiencing.
The latest Domain House Price Report has revealed the top-performing property markets nationwide, with the top five spots dominated by Queensland and West Australian suburbs.
| State | Suburb | Postcode | Median house price | Annual change | 5-year change |
| QLD | Paradise Point | 4216 | $2,700,000 | 48.4% | 118.6% |
| WA | Camillo | 6111 | $546,000 | 47.2% | 142.7% |
| WA | Armadale | 6112 | $495,000 | 43.5% | 125.0% |
| QLD | Manly | 4179 | $1,597,500 | 42.0% | 103.0% |
| WA | Rangeway | 6530 | $255,000 | 41.7% | NA |
Paradise Point on the Gold Coast took the top spot, with a 48.8 per cent annual increase in house prices.
What was once an “under the radar” Gold Coast pocket filled with affordable older homes, Paradise Point is now a trendy suburb in high demand – and that demand has been rapidly pushing prices up over the past few years, says local agent Jeanette Schmidt of Amir Prestige Group.
“Paradise Point includes Sovereign Island [and surrounding marina], making it a very much upmarket area,” she says.
“You’ve got maybe a two-bedroom apartment for maybe $700,000, and then you’ve got properties at Sovereign Island that are about $10 million. That’s why it creates that high [annual growth].”
In the past few years, the suburb has seen a surge of new developments, prompting an influx of younger families and buyers, says Schmidt.
While Paradise Point was the Australian suburb with the strongest property price growth over the past year, the majority of the best performers were more affordable areas.
In the south-eastern Perth suburbs of Armadale and Camillo, the median house prices grew by more than 40 per cent in the past year but remain under $600,000, well below the national median of $1.15 million.
Armadale’s median house price is just $495,000, while Camillo’s is $546,000.
“If I were going to put it down to one thing, it would be interstate investor demand – that’s been a very, very strong factor in our market here,” says local Armadale agent Jason Shier of Armadale Real Estate.
“We’re seen as being very affordable compared to other major cities.”
However, Shier says it is becoming more challenging to find a house at those medians, and buyers should expect to spend closer to $600,000 for a typical three-bedroom, one-bathroom house with a decent block of land.
He expects prices in Camillo and Armadale to continue to grow.
“We’re still well under stock levels of where a normal market would be,” he says.
In Brisbane, Manly’s median house price soared by 42 per cent over the year to $1,597,500.
“Manly is a very small suburb in the bayside. It’s very prestigious,” says local agent Tamara Hall of ReMax Advantage.
“There are only so many properties in that Manly pocket, so the land value is worth more than when you look at Wynnum,” she says.
In the past few years, Manly has seen a rise of younger families buying as they upgrade from their first or second home, Hall says, as there have been many lifestyle improvements in the area.
“It’s changed significantly in the last five years when it comes to lifestyle for a younger demographic, compared to what it was like 10 years ago,” she says.
With a $1.6 million budget, it’s possible to buy a lovely Queenslander-style home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, or four bedrooms and two bathrooms, on roughly 400 square metres of land, Hall says. However, she says it is unlikely to buy a property with a water view or a pool.
Four and a half hours’ drive north of the Perth CBD is Rangeway, where the median house price has increased by 41.7 per cent but is still just $255,000.
“The median price you’ll see in the next round of stats will go up massively again because it’s still growing,” says real estate agent Michael Cotton of Professionals Geraldton. “The worst houses in that area are worth [a median of $255,000] now.
“The best explanation for it would be that it’s so affordable, and we have seen an increase in rent. It’s becoming a really affordable investment option or opportunity for first-time investors and people looking to add to their portfolio.
“We don’t see all that many first-home buyers in Rangeway these days. Most of what’s selling in there right now is going to interstate investors.”
The median weekly rent in Rangeway has increased by an eye-watering 92.2 per cent in the past five years, bringing it up to $370 a week, according to Domain data.
“If you want to buy something really nice in that area, you’d be looking in the mid to high $300,000s,” Cotton says. “And there are a couple of properties achieving in the very early $400,000 [range] as well.”
He expects Rangeway will continue to see a rapid rate of price growth as it continues being an investor hotspot.
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