Property boom already here, PropTrack data reveals

Australia’s next property boom is already here, with new data showing hundreds of suburbs across the nation recorded double-digit house price growth in just three months.

Analysis of PropTrack’s latest figures reveals 316 suburbs saw house values jump by more than 10% over Winter, while more than 1300 suburbs recorded overall gains.

What’s notable about this data is that it shows booming suburbs are spread right across the country - in both cities and regions - and not confined to just a couple of states or territories.

The details

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Tim McIntyre, a senior journalist with Realestate.com.au, analysed PropTrack’s latest monthly data for all Australian suburbs in order to look at the performance of house prices over the past three months.

He says what he found confirms that the latest property boom is “already underway.”

In some cases, the increases in median suburb house prices were extraordinary.

Balmoral, in Brisbane’s inner east, led the nation with a staggering 64.9% rise in its median house price, which now sits at $1.775 million.

Other top performers include the small town of Perth in north-central Tasmania (48.6%), the suburb of Berrimah in Darwin (43.8%), Macksville on the New South Wales mid-north coast (43.2%), and Renmark on the Murray River in South Australia (43%).

Queensland’s Mount Morgan (41.3%), Darley on Melbourne’s western outskirts (41.2%), Turramurra on Sydney’s Upper North Shore (41.1%), and New Farm in inner-city Brisbane (37.9%) rounded out the list of fastest-growing suburbs.

Tim McIntyre notes how widespread the boom appears to be.

“One thing about the data that struck me was that, unlike a number of top-performing suburb lists, there was quite an even spread between different states,” Mr McIntyre says.

In fact, there were 26 suburbs that saw more than 30% growth in their median house prices in just three months: 9 from Queensland, 7 from Victoria, 6 from New South Wales, and one each from Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and South Australia.

“It shows that there are markets everywhere that are primed for growth, not just particular states or regions,” Tim McIntyre says.

National prices at record highs

PropTrack’s Home Price Index for August confirmed the breadth of the property rally, with all capital cities except Hobart recording monthly growth.

Over the past 12 months, every capital posted house price increases.

Regional markets also showed strength, with gains across every state except Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

REA Group Senior Economist Eleanor Creagh, who authored the PropTrack report, says the results highlight the powerful impact of this year’s three interest rate cuts.

“National home prices rose to a record high during August,” Ms Creagh says.

“This marks eight straight months of growth as the housing market gains momentum following the series of interest rate cuts this year, which have boosted borrowing capacities, improved sentiment and drawn buyers back into the market.”

Ms Creagh adds that while the recovery initially started in just a handful of cities, it has since broadened significantly.

“As a result, the housing upswing, once narrowly led by a handful of cities, is broadening.”

Looking ahead, PropTrack’s Eleanor Creagh says conditions are set to intensify in Spring, traditionally the busiest time of the year for real estate.

“The combination of lower interest rates, increased borrowing capacities and improved sentiment is expected to continue to drive demand.

“Constrained new housing supply, strong population growth and the expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme from October will also maintain upward pressure on prices.”

A boom underway

PropTrack’s numbers suggest Australia’s next housing boom is not a distant prospect but an unfolding reality.

With double-digit growth recorded in hundreds of suburbs and national values at record highs, the property upswing is already reshaping markets from inner-city enclaves to regional towns.

As Realestate.com.au’s Tim McIntyre notes, the surge is not isolated.

“There are markets everywhere that are primed for growth,” he says.