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Life in Australia looked very different 15 years ago: Julia Gillard was prime minister, a 17-year-old Justin Bieber was touring Oz for the first time, ‘Party Rock Anthem’ topped the charts, and 'planking' took over social media. It was also a time when a carton of eggs cost less than $4, and house prices were dramatically lower – literally millions of dollars cheaper in certain Aussie suburbs!
The latest ABS stats show Australia’s property market is worth a staggering $12.7 trillion – almost tripling its $4.4 trillion value from 2011. Now, new data from realestate.com.au has revealed the suburbs leading this historic boom, recording the nation’s highest house price growth over the last 15 years.
New South Wales and Queensland dominated the top ten growth markets, accounting for eight of the ten suburbs. Many of these top performers are regional hubs – a combined result of the pandemic, remote working flexibility and younger Australians being priced out of capital cities.
Topping the list for the greatest national house price growth over the past 15 years is Pokolbin in the NSW Hunter Valley. The median sale price here now sits at $1.628 million – a whopping 417 per cent (or $1.3 million) increase since 2011.
Australia’s obsession with coastal living has also intensified over the past 15 years, with plenty of seaside suburbs featured in the top ten. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to ocean views or be within walking distance of the beach?
On the Gold Coast, Palm Beach recorded the third-highest national growth at 329 per cent, while other coastal hotspots Mermaid Waters, Buddina, Byron Bay and Miami all saw median values jump by more than $1.5 million.
Outside the eastern seaboard, Bellamack in Darwin – Australia's most affordable housing market – cracked the top ten with a 313 per cent surge, pushing its median house price from $193,000 in 2011 to $795,000 today. However, the current value is still well below its higher-priced East Coast counterparts.
Forde in Canberra’s north was the only other suburb outside NSW and Queensland to crack the top ten, with median sale prices for houses up 306 per cent over the same period to reach a median of $1.148 million.
Interested in seeing how property prices have changed in your suburb over the past 15 years? You can use realestate.com.au’s interactive tool here.
The 10 Australian suburbs where house prices grew the most over the past 15 years:
- Pokolbin, NSW – up 417% ($315k to $1.63m)
- Jordan Springs, NSW – up 373% ($239k to $1.13m)
- Palm Beach, QLD – up 329% ($490k to $2.1m)
- Byron Bay, NSW – up 321% ($680k to $2.86m)
- Mermaid Waters, QLD – up 316% ($578k to $2.4m)
- Bellamack, NT – up 313% ($193k to $795k)
- Boolaroo, NSW – up 311% ($281k to $1.16m)
- Buddina, QLD – up 311% ($493k to $2.02m)
- Miami, QLD – up 310% ($500k to $2.05m)
- Forde, ACT – up 306% ($283k to $1.15m)