The price of property in Australia's most isolated towns
Out where the red dust dances and you are more likely to see a snake than a set of traffic lights, Aussies make their home for a fraction of city prices.
However, a snapshot of house prices in some of Australia’s most isolated towns demonstrates that price growth depends on much more than gentrification.
Baristas serving almond lattes would be akin to a mirage in these remote parts, but the median house prices in well-known outback towns have spiked – in some cases by double digits – over the past 12 months.
Jobs, legacy industries and growing resource sectors are some of the nation’s most powerful property price drivers.
There are, of course, far more isolated towns and communities in Australia than some of those listed below, but they don’t usually clock up enough property sales to register a median property price. For those that do, here is a close-up of how the market is performing far away from cities.
Kununurra, WA – 2200km from Perth
At 2200 kilometres from Perth, Kununurra is one of the furthest towns from a capital city in the entire country.
The Kimberley town is in an ancient landscape of extremes – heat, beauty and isolation. However, not so severe are the property prices.
Here, houses have a median price of $450,000, even after a rise of 4.7 per cent over 12 months, Domain’s December 2024 House Price Report shows.
While the median is $450,000, sprawling homesteads are not uncommon – a 5.56-hectare riverfront acreage property sold last year for $1.65 million.
Katherine, NT – 320km from Darwin
Compared to some of the more remote towns on this list, Katherine’s mere 320-kilometre drive from Darwin doesn’t seem so bad, but Katherine is isolated due to its position in the Top End, far from population centres. While it’s not as remote as some places, its long, stretching roads and large freehold properties capture the essence of outback Australia.
Agent Olivia Thompson from LAWD moved to Katherine from Cairns and is one of the many locals who came for temporary work and then never left.
Thompson said employees of the air force base and in health, construction and road work come for a year or two but often decide to stay.
“It is very much a service town, serving an area of the Northern Territory about the size of Victoria, and it is one of the main hubs for the pastoral industries,” she says.
“Almost all of the large cattle stations get a lot of their supplies from Katherine.”
Investors recognise the high rental yields they can achieve from workers taking home substantial wages while enjoying a nature lovers’ paradise of barramundi fishing, hot springs and gorge treks, she says.
Although there is no median available for Katherine, Thompson says $400,000 to $450,000 is a typical price bracket.
“I would say we are starting to get more and more investors now, purely because the returns are there,” she says.
But with a population of about 10,000 people, most of the residential housing is relatively dense. A more typical home in Katherine – often referred to as “where the tropics meet the outback” – is made for its climate. Timber or lightweight homes elevated off the ground are cool, often equipped with ceiling fans and air-conditioning and sometimes a swimming pool.
Broome, WA – 1674km from Perth
Aerial shots of the coastline – baby blue ocean meets ochre dust – could be the quintessential Aussie postcard.
The beach town in the Kimberley, dotted with resorts, pearl boutiques and restaurants, has experienced a median house price surge of 32.7 per cent over the past year.
A house will set a buyer back a median of $730,000.
Winton, QLD – 1356km from Brisbane
The official Winton website says this is a “tiny town with a big to-do list” and is the birthplace of the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda.
If house hunting is one of those to-do’s, buyers right now can expect to pay just north of $200,000 for a three-bedroom house on more than 1000 square metres.
There is no obtainable median, due to small turnover of properties.
Coober Pedy, SA – 850km from Adelaide
Nearer to a Mars landscape than anything else on Earth, Coober Pedy – the opal mining capital of the world – is central to Aussie folklore.
Not only is it where you can find the cheapest houses in the nation, but Hollywood has often come calling. Coober Pedy’s otherworldly landscape and landmarks featured in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Coober Pedy has Australia’s lowest median house price of $91,250 (even after an annual lift of 12.7 per cent), and the homes are known as dugouts, insulating residents from intense temperatures.
Cloncurry, QLD – 1428km from Brisbane
The herculean landscape of Cloncurry was the set of the 2021 season of reality show Survivor.
The median is not as grandiose, at a comfortable $217,000 (a rise of 2.8 per cent over 12 months).
The Harmony Gold Mining Company expects to start production from its Eva Copper Mine near Cloncurry in 2028.
City and Country Realty agent Amanda Corbett said properties that are neat and modern are rapidly snapped up.
“The boom in the past 12 months has been because the Eva Copper Mine is going to kick off for us,” Corbett says.
“People come and stay. It is a very vibrant community; there is always something on, and the council does a lot of good in that regard.”
Port Hedland, WA – 1308km from Perth
The world’s largest bulk export port has clocked up a 6.1 per cent rise in the median house price to land at $700,000.
The second-largest town in the Pilbara, where iron ore moves through well-established trade routes, had a population of 15,298 at the last census.
Workers are primarily employed in mining, but there are also jobs in construction, warehousing and transport.
Birdsville, QLD – 1590km to Brisbane
Home of the race meet dubbed the Melbourne Cup of the Outback (the Birdsville Races), the town is one of the highest-profile specks on the map.
A median house price is not available.
However, past deals are on par with the price of a family sedan – just $58,000 for a four-bedroom, one-bathroom home with lino floors and a carport.
Atherton, QLD – 1362km to Brisbane
Buyers with $475,000 to spend can pick up a median-priced house in the town regarded as the food bowl of Queensland. That price represents a jump of 10.6 per cent over 12 months.
The climate and rich soil produce abundant apples, avocados, potatoes, berries and coffee beans.
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