More than 30 suburbs across the country have returned 12-month growth figures in excess of 40 per cent, according to new data.
The latest CoreLogic RP Data figures show that while the three best performers were in South Australia, the state with the largest number of high performers was New South Wales.
Eastwood in Adelaide’s inner south recorded the highest 12-month growth rate in Australia, with house prices jumping by 49.55 per cent based on a median price of $750,000.
John Laycock, a registered manager at Gary J Smith Real Estate, recently sold a three-bedroom home in Eastwood with an advertised price guide of $799,000 to $849,000.
He said the area was proving popular with retirees looking to downsize and relocate closer to the Adelaide CBD.
“Most of the interest I had on the one I sold was from older people downsizing from a larger home … who wanted to be a bit closer – walking distance to the city and cafés,” Mr Laycock said.
For a small suburb, Eastwood is home to a diverse range of housing stock including high-end apartments built in the last decade, according to Mr Laycock.
“The original part of Eastwood is very old and it’s got single-fronted cottages in some of the streets, little bluestone ones dating right back to the 1860s, 1870s,” he said. “Then you’ve got an area which is a little bit better with bigger allotments and they date back around the 1900s and then you’ve got a bit of new development taking place.”
Not far behind Eastwood was Blyth, a town in South Australia’s Clare Valley, where the median house price rose by 49.32 per cent on a median price of $219,500. Oakbank, in the Adelaide Hills, sat on 49.02 per cent, based on a median house price of $760,000.
In terms of the national market, these suburbs came in second and third respectively. Fourth spot went to West Launceston in Tasmania, where unit prices increased by 48.61 per cent off the back of a $373,000 median price.
In New South Wales, the south coast town of Mollymook led the charge with unit prices increasing by 36 per cent over the 12 months (based on a median price of $405,000). Mollymook was the fifth-highest performing market in the country.
Every ‘top 10’ suburb in New South Wales returned a figure above 40 per cent. Coming in at number 10 was Wollstonecraft, the highest-performing market within a five kilometre radius of the Sydney CBD.
The suburb recorded a 41.03 per cent increase on median house prices over the 12 months.
High-end house prices in the inner-Sydney area have been the subject of much political speculation of late, and Wollstonecraft’s median house price of $2.2 million reinforces the fact that the market is well out of the reach of most investors.
Other Sydney suburbs to make the top 10 included Luddenham (45.22 per cent growth, $835,000 median house price), Schofields (42.34 per cent, $790,000) and Austral (41.67 per cent, $1,530,000).
The market with the lowest number one and 10 suburbs was the Northern Territory. McMinns Lagoon recorded an increase of 37.96 per cent based on a median house price of $745,000 to be the best-performing market in the territory. East Side, in Alice Springs, came in at number 10 with an increase of 12.19 per cent and a median house price of $520,000.
The ACT had no suburbs with growth greater than 40 per cent. The best-performing area in the territory was Reid, which – with a median unit price of $587,500 – experienced 38.07 per cent growth.
