Major infrastructure projects are set to reshape these suburbs, creating the potential for significant price growth as more homebuyers and investors start taking notice.
New transport hubs, employment centres and urban renewal projects that are underway or recently completed are transforming these areas into property hotspots.
From newly built or extended train lines enabling improved accessibility, to advanced manufacturing precincts creating thousands of jobs of the future, these developments could change these local property markets forever.
REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said major infrastructure projects can reshape housing demand by improving accessibility and increasing confidence in the economic prospects of an area.
“This can expand the buyer pool and support stronger price growth over time, particularly in suburbs that were previously less connected or undervalued,” she said.
Ms Creagh said the strongest phase of price growth often occurs when projects are announced and construction commences as buyers begin pricing in anticipated improvements.
“However, the benefits can also continue particularly when infrastructure materially changes how people live and work or commute,” she said.
These are just a handful of the Australian suburbs that are rapidly evolving as new housing, jobs and opportunities are unlocked over the years ahead.
Bankstown, NSW
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $1,625,000 | 5.9% |
| Units | $600,000 | 7.2% |
Bankstown in Sydney’s south west will get a major connectivity boost later this year, with the extended metro line terminating in the cosmopolitan suburb.
The upgraded station will be connected with Central Bankstown, where staged redevelopment will transform the suburb’s main shopping centre into a mixed-use town centre encompassing offices, apartments and student accommodation.
The extension of the metro line, coupled with a new hospital and redevelopment of the shopping centre has put Bankstown on the map for more buyers. Picture: Getty
Real estate agent Gizele Asfour of LJ Hooker Bankstown Moorebank said the metro was top of mind for many buyers who had purchased recently.
“Bankstown is quite promising for anyone who is looking to invest or wants convenience,” she said.
“We've already felt a jump, especially with the units and apartments. Houses are very tightly held in the area and when they do come on the market, there’s strong demand.”
The suburb will also receive a new $2 billion hospital, which is scheduled to start construction next year and open in 2031.
“A lot of people don’t know the hospital is coming, but they're starting to get wind of it,” Ms Asfour said. “It’s going to get another push.”
St Marys, NSW
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $1,170,000 | 18.8% |
| Units | $690,000 | 2.2% |
Another metro line under construction in Sydney’s west is on track to transform St Marys into a major transport hub, with the suburb set to serve as a key node on the transport network connecting passengers to Western Sydney Airport, opening later this year.
Low-rise and underutilised land around the station will be rezoned to allow more than 9,000 new homes to be built, and more than 8,000 jobs created in the next 15 years, along with several new parks and community facilities.
The new St Marys metro station will provide access to Western Sydney Airport and is expected to provide a catalyst for further growth in the suburb. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Port Kembla, NSW
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $1,010,000 | 7.5% |
| Units | NA | NA |
Best known as the home of Australia’s largest steelworks, Port Kembla is set to be transformed into a major innovation hub dedicated to advanced manufacturing, education and renewable energy.
A 200-hectare parcel of excess land to the south of the main steel plant has been rezoned to support future-facing industries
The steelworks employs 3,000 people, but an extra 30,000 jobs are expected to be created in the new precinct.
Parts of the Port Kembla steelworks are slated for redevelopment into an advanced manufacturing precinct. Picture: Getty
Broadmeadow, NSW
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $1,225,000 | 36.1%* |
| Units | $747,500 | 0.7%* |
Another major rezoning at Broadmeadow, a suburb of Newcastle, will allow for 3,200 new homes to be built and 2,350 jobs to be created on land currently occupied by a disused locomotive depot, showground, basketball stadium and go kart track.
The revitalised suburb is expected to be connected to the city’s light rail network, and further down the line, Broadmeadow will become the city’s primary station on the Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail line by the early 2040s.
While Broadmeadow itself is a small suburb, effects are likely to be felt in surrounding suburbs such as Adamstown, New Lambton and Hamilton.
Woolloongabba, QLD
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $1,500,000 | 13.2% |
| Units | $762,000 | 11.5% |
The inner Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba will get a major boost from the Cross River Rail, a 10km underground train line designed to ease a capacity bottleneck in the city’s rail network.
Woolloongabba will receive one of four new stations on the line, unlocking capacity for more housing in an area currently characterised by fragmented land use and underutilised commercial sites.
While plans to redevelop the Gabba have been paused for now, surrounding land is already slated for higher-density mixed-use development, positioning Woolloongabba for significant transformation ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games.
The inner Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba will get a boost from a new train station and redevelopment plans for underutilised land. Picture: Getty
Hamilton, QLD
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $2,610,000 | -8.4%* |
| Units | $770,000 | 15.8% |
Hamilton’s former industrial waterfront is transforming into a mixed-use precinct featuring apartments, offices and retail alongside riverfront parks and public spaces.
While it was previously earmarked as the location of the main athlete’s village for the Olympics, which has since shifted to Brisbane Showgrounds at Bowen Hills, land at Hamilton has since been unlocked to deliver 3,000 homes.
The high-density precinct will sit alongside one of the city’s most prestigious pockets, where multimillion-dollar family homes occupy an elevated position above the Brisbane River.
More waterfront homes are on the way for Hamilton in Brisbane's inner north. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Sunshine, VIC
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $861,500 | 12.0% |
| Units | $520,000 | 14.8% |
The redevelopment of Sunshine station into a major transport interchange is expected to kick-start renewal in one of Melbourne’s historically working-class western suburbs.
The station will link suburban and regional trains with the planned airport line, while providing quicker and more dependable access to the city via the new metro tunnel.
Sunshine’s population is expected to double in the next 30 years, with the station transformation providing a catalyst for increased housing development.
Sunshine station is being transformed into a "superhub", eventually connecting passengers to the CBD, airport and regional Victoria. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The suburb has been pitched as the “capital of Melbourne’s west”, with the masterplan including a mix of housing types and green spaces to revitalise underutilised land around the station.
Real estate agent and Bells Real Estate director Martin Artigas said the station redevelopment was drawing more buyers to Sunshine and surrounding suburbs, including interstate investors from Sydney.
“I hear it mentioned every single weekend at open homes,” he said. “It will have a significant effect on people who travel for work.”
“We’re well overdue for some significant growth, and that would really push things along.”
North Melbourne, VIC
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $1,240,000 | -4.6% |
| Units | $520,000 | 7.2% |
Redevelopment of industrial land around the new Arden metro station in North Melbourne will create a precinct that will eventually be home to 15,000 residents and accommodate 34,000 jobs.
At least 6% of properties in Arden will be affordable housing, while 10% of properties will be prioritised for first-home buyers.
Alkimos, WA
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $825,500 | 17.9% |
| Units | NA | NA |
The extension of the Yanchep train line to Alkimos in Perth’s outer north has unlocked the potential of this coastal suburb.
The population in the area has already surged following the construction of thousands of new homes in the past few years, but train connectivity will open the door for the construction of Alkimos Central, a new transit-oriented city centre.
A recently-opened train line is unlocking further residential and commercial development at Alkimos in Perth's north. Picture: Getty
While the area around the station is still taking shape, a new aquatic centre is on track to open later this year, followed by a retail precinct, with further development expected to progress over the next few decades.
Rockingham, WA
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $795,000 | 6.0% |
| Units | NA | NA |
Australia’s long-term naval and defence programs are expected to underpin housing demand in suburbs close to key shipyards, and Rockingham in Perth’s south is uniquely positioned to benefit.
The defence build-up will create more than 10,000 jobs at HMAS Stirling, a naval base on Garden Island just off the coast of Rockingham, and the Henderson Defence Precinct located to the north, which are being expanded to become Australia’s main west-coast hub for nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact.
Rockingham is situated between two major naval shipyards set to take on a key strategic role amid Australia's defence buildup. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Rockingham is one of Perth’s most affordable coastal suburbs, with a median house price of $826,000, which is almost $300,000 lower than the median for Perth overall.
Real estate agent Nola Tully of Harcourts Elite Agents said she had seen increased numbers of navy personnel moving to the area recently.
“It's a good family area with a great community and it’s not too far from the freeway to get to Perth,” she said.
Osborne, SA
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $795,000 | 6.0% |
| Units | NA | NA |
While Australia’s submarine fleet will be based in Perth, the vessels will actually be constructed at naval shipyards in Osborne, a coastal suburb of Adelaide.
About 4,000 workers will be employed in shipyard and infrastructure construction, with up to 5,500 more jobs created building submarines once the program reaches its peak in the coming decades.
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While Osborne itself is largely industrial, additional spillover demand is expected in nearby and surrounding coastal suburbs such as North Haven, Largs North and Semaphore.
Bridgewater, TAS
| Median sale price | 12-month growth | |
| Houses | $500,000 | 19.1% |
| Units | NA | NA |
The construction of a new bridge across the Derwent river – Tasmania’s largest ever infrastructure project – has dramatically improved accessibility to Bridgewater, which is one of the city’s most affordable suburbs.
The four-lane bridge doubles capacity of the previous crossing, reducing traffic congestion and allowing quicker travel to Hobart’s northern suburbs, which have experienced increased demand from first-home buyers and investors.
Bridgewater in Hobart is one of the most affordable capital city suburbs in Australia. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Real estate agent Aaron Murray of 4one4 Property Co said the newly constructed bridge improved accessibility to the rest of the city, while the suburb’s strong rental yields put it firmly on investors’ radars.
“I’d suggest 70-80% of property purchases there are going to investors at the moment,” he said.
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