A handful of Aussie suburbs are priced right in the middle of the market, with typical house prices closely matching that of their wider city.
In each of the capitals there are suburbs where median house prices are very close to the citywide median, putting these suburbs in the “Goldilocks” zone for a typical buyer.
The price of a typical house in these suburbs closely aligns with that of their city, making these suburbs representative of what the capital’s median price could buy.
Goldilocks suburbs could be considered not so expensive that purchasing a house is unachievable for most buyers, and not so cheap that buyers would have to make major sacrifices to live there.
Instead, the median price of a house in these suburbs is right in the middle, roughly corresponding with what a typical buyer pays to purchase a house in that city.
That sweet spot in the market means many suburbs in the Goldilocks price range are increasingly appealing to younger buyers seeking a relatively affordable house that's large enough to raise a young family, as well a convenient commute.
Where are Australia’s Goldilocks suburbs?
Across the capitals, suburbs with house prices close to the citywide median tend to be located outside the inner city, which REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said highlighted the premium placed on proximity to the CBD.
Sydney buyers searching for suburbs priced in the middle of the market will find options in the city's southwest, including Chipping Norton where this renovated three-bedroom house sold for $1.46 million - the same as Sydney's median house price. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
“It reflects how affordability constraints push buyers to the middle and outer rings, where homes are more attainable while still within commuting distance of city centres,” she said.
“Many of these suburbs share characteristics like good transport links, multicultural communities, and a mix of housing types catering to growing families and first-home buyers.”
Jump ahead to see suburbs in the "Goldilocks zone" for house prices in:
Homes in relatively affordable suburbs with good liveability were in demand, Ms Creagh said.
“We are seeing robust price growth in many affordable and mid-priced suburbs, driven by affordability-seeking buyers as well as first-home buyer incentives.”
“However, the trend varies between cities depending on supply constraints, local demand, and infrastructure investment.”
Custom Call to ActionWe’ve dug through PropTrack data to uncover 10 Goldilocks suburbs in each capital. These are the suburbs with median prices that are closest to the overall capital city median.
In all cities except Sydney and Hobart, median prices in these suburbs fall within the updated price caps for the federal government’s Help to Buy scheme, which helps first-home buyers get into the market sooner using a shared equity model.
The median sale price of a city or suburb refers to the middle value of all properties in that area that sold in the past 12 months. That means half of the properties that sold were priced below the median, and half were priced above.
Sydney
Median house price: $1.46 million
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| Lakemba | NSW | $1,425,000 | 19.7% |
| Greenacre | NSW | $1,427,500 | 9.8% |
| Wentworthville | NSW | $1,430,000 | 5.9% |
| Chipping Norton | NSW | $1,455,000 | 9.4% |
| Forresters Beach | NSW | $1,457,500 | -7.8% |
| Rouse Hill | NSW | $1,461,250 | 1.2% |
| Oakville | NSW | $1,472,000 | 29.1% |
| Condell Park | NSW | $1,483,000 | 14.1% |
| Kurrajong | NSW | $1,485,000 | 8.2% |
| Padstow Heights | NSW | $1,490,000 | 1.4% |
The median house price in Sydney is now $1.46 million, and while paying that much for a property isn’t exactly “just right” for a lot of buyers with more limited budgets, it is the reality in Australia’s priciest capital city.
Many of the suburbs clustered around this price point are located in Sydney’s southwest, such as Lakemba, Greenacre, Condell Park, Chipping Norton and Padstow Heights.
This four-bedroom duplex in Padstow Heights recently sold for $1.41 million - close to Sydney's median house price. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
This region is about 30-40 minutes drive from the CBD and serviced by a number of train lines, including the extension of the Metro line to Bankstown, due for completion next year.
Real estate agent and Property Place director Dean Owsnett said most buyers in Padstow Heights purchasing around the median house price were young families either buying their first home or upsizing from an apartment.
“You’d be looking at a neatly presented three- or four-bedroom brick home, 70s or 80s build, with a nice backyard and about 550sqm of land,” he said.
“It's a lovely place to live, and has a leafy outlook. You’re 30 minutes to Cronulla beach, 20 minutes to Westfield, and you can jump on the M5 and you're in the city in half an hour.”
In the northwest, the outer suburbs of Rouse Hill, Oakville and Kurrajong fall into the Goldilocks zone of pricing, as does the popular Central Coast suburb of Forresters Beach.
Melbourne
Median house price: $855,000
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| Bundoora | VIC | $850,000 | 0.6% |
| Boronia | VIC | $850,000 | -0.7% |
| Hadfield | VIC | $850,000 | -2.9% |
| Chirnside Park | VIC | $850,000 | -3.5% |
| Tootgarook | VIC | $850,500 | -3.6% |
| Langwarrin | VIC | $855,000 | 1.8% |
| Greenvale | VIC | $857,500 | -0.3% |
| Somerville | VIC | $863,750 | 7.6% |
| Taylors Hill | VIC | $865,000 | -2.4% |
| Upper Ferntree Gully | VIC | $866,500 | -2.6% |
The Goldilocks suburbs of Melbourne are a little more geographically dispersed than in Sydney, and are located mostly in city's outer regions.
Those closest to the CBD are found in the north, including Hadfield, Bundoora and Greenvale.
In the east, Chirnside Park, Boronia and Upper Ferntree Gully are where median house prices most closely match the city’s overall median.
Heading south and into the Mornington Peninsula, buyers will find Langwarrin, Somerville and Tootgarook have house prices close to Melbourne’s $855,000 median house price.
Brisbane
Median house price: $920,000
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| North Lakes | QLD | $900,000 | 12.5% |
| Capalaba | QLD | $912,250 | 10.8% |
| Windaroo | QLD | $913,750 | 9.8% |
| Redland Bay | QLD | $915,000 | 4.6% |
| Greenbank | QLD | $920,000 | 14.0% |
| Boondall | QLD | $930,000 | 12.2% |
| Cedar Vale | QLD | $930,000 | 9.4% |
| Bracken Ridge | QLD | $935,000 | 14.2% |
| Pallara | QLD | $937,500 | 2.0% |
| Taigum | QLD | $938,500 | 11.1% |
A budget of about $920,000, equivalent to Brisbane’s median house price, gives buyers a selection of options both north and south of the city.
A cluster of suburbs in the north — Boondall, Taigum and Bracken Ridge — are about a 30-minute drive from the CBD, while North Lakes is priced in the same range, although further out.
This renovated three-bedroom house in Boondall sold for just $2,000 more than Brisbane's median house price. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Real estate agent Angela Duncan of Ray White Nundah said the area was favoured by first-home buyers for its value for money, with most trying to purchase a house for less than $1 million.
“It’s the sweet spot where you still get a decent yard and a really comfortable home that you don’t have to renovate straight away,” she said.
Buyers looking in the southeast with the same budget could investigate Capalaba, or drift further out for a coastal lifestyle at Redland Bay.
Buyers could find large acreage blocks for less than $1 million about an hour from the city in Cedar Vale. This two-acre property fetched $960,000 in April. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Recently-built homes for that same budget could be found in Pallara and Greenbank, while Cedar Vale, about 50 minutes south of the CBD, offers larger acreage properties for roughly the same price.
Adelaide
Median house price: $827,000
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| Enfield | SA | $825,000 | 21.2% |
| Sheidow Park | SA | $825,000 | 13.0% |
| Clovelly Park | SA | $825,500 | 5.0% |
| Windsor Gardens | SA | $827,000 | 8.5% |
| Clearview | SA | $828,500 | 20.1% |
| Aberfoyle Park | SA | $828,500 | 16.7% |
| Onkaparinga Hills | SA | $831,000 | 3.6% |
| Largs North | SA | $835,000 | 16.0% |
| Oakden | SA | $837,000 | 17.5% |
| Greenwith | SA | $838,000 | 17.8% |
Adelaide is one of the few capitals where buyers looking for a Goldilocks suburb priced around the city’s $827,000 median could find one relatively close to the CBD.
Enfield, Clearview, Oakden and Windsor Gardens in the northeast are all within about 20 minutes from the CBD, as is Clovelly Park in the south.
Real estate agent and Boffo director Jimmy Wu said Windsor Gardens attracted mostly a younger first-home buyer demographic drawn to its position just 9km from the CBD.
The suburb also benefited from access to the O-Bahn, which is a guided busway providing quick access to the city from the northeastern suburbs, and has maintained its character despite ongoing development in recent years, he said.
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“It’s still very leafy, the streets are very nice and there are plenty of older homes that are being well maintained and renovated,” he said.
Meanwhile, buyers hoping to be close to the beach for about the same price as the city's median could look at Largs North, while those seeking bigger houses and more land could head south to Onkaparinga Hills.
Perth
Median house price: $795,500
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| Greenmount | WA | $790,000 | 20.6% |
| Coolbellup | WA | $795,000 | 22.3% |
| Heathridge | WA | $795,000 | 21.4% |
| Chidlow | WA | $800,000 | 19.0% |
| Balcatta | WA | $800,000 | 10.3% |
| Yangebup | WA | $800,000 | 18.5% |
| Wannanup | WA | $800,000 | 16.8% |
| Secret Harbour | WA | $800,500 | 19.5% |
| Parkwood | WA | $801,750 | 15.8% |
| Hammond Park | WA | $803,500 | 19.5% |
The closest Goldilocks suburb to the Perth CBD is Balcatta, about a 20-minute drive north of the city, which has a median house price of $800,000 – just $5,000 more than Perth’s median of $795,000.
About 10 minutes further out is Heathridge, which is the closest buyers in the north will get to the beach in this price range.
This leafy property in Coolbellup sold for $770,000 earlier this year – a little cheaper than Perth's overall median price. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Buyers looking in the south will find Coolbellup, Yangebup and Hammond Park fall into the Goldilocks zone of pricing, while Secret Harbour and Wannanup will get buyers a beachside position, although the potential trade-off is the distance from the CBD.
Hobart
Median house price: $705,000
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| Sorell | TAS | $650,000 | -4.4% |
| West Moonah | TAS | $653,000 | 7.0% |
| Dodges Ferry | TAS | $657,500 | 9.6% |
| Howrah | TAS | $720,000 | -9.4% |
| Geilston Bay | TAS | $728,000 | 5.0% |
| Old Beach | TAS | $730,000 | 7.4% |
| Kingston | TAS | $738,000 | 0.4% |
| Lenah Valley | TAS | $750,000 | 0.0% |
| Lauderdale | TAS | $760,000 | -12.6% |
| Lindisfarne | TAS | $777,000 | 6.4% |
Given Hobart’s smaller size relative to the other capitals, its 10 Goldilocks suburbs represent a greater proportion of the city's suburbs.
Hobart buyers won't need to travel far from the CBD to buy a house with a large block of land close to the city's median house price. This three-bedroom Geilston Bay house on a 668sqm block sold for $730,000 in April. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Buyers focused on proximity to the city will be pleased that half of these suburbs are within about a 15-minute drive of the CBD, including Lenah Valley, West Moonah, Kingston, Lindisfarne and Geilston Bay.
Darwin
Median house price: $570,000
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| Alawa | NT | $530,250 | -7.8% |
| Moil | NT | $535,500 | -9.2% |
| Anula | NT | $540,000 | -0.9% |
| Wulagi | NT | $545,000 | 3.3% |
| Zuccoli | NT | $575,000 | 10.2% |
| Durack | NT | $575,000 | 4.5% |
| Farrar | NT | $575,000 | 3.1% |
| Tiwi | NT | $578,250 | 8.6% |
| Rosebery | NT | $590,000 | 1.3% |
| Leanyer | NT | $590,000 | -1.7% |
About half of Darwin’s Goldilocks suburbs are located in the city’s north, with the northernmost, Tiwi, located about 20 minutes from the CBD.
The remainder are found in the Palmerston area, which is where much of the new housing development in the Greater Darwin region has taken place in recent decades.
This four-bedroom house in Durack in Darwin's Palmerston region sold for just under $600,000 late last year. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Canberra
Median house price: $958,000
| Suburb | State | Median house price | 12-month price change |
| Conder | ACT | $925,000 | 3.4% |
| Gowrie | ACT | $930,000 | 6.2% |
| Fisher | ACT | $930,000 | -2.6% |
| Throsby | ACT | $932,500 | -16.6% |
| Bonner | ACT | $950,000 | 5.6% |
| Palmerston | ACT | $952,500 | 6.0% |
| Amaroo | ACT | $960,000 | 1.1% |
| Duffy | ACT | $971,000 | -5.3% |
| Macquarie | ACT | $972,750 | 7.5% |
| Franklin | ACT | $985,000 | -1.5% |
Buying in the Goldilocks price range in Canberra means purchasing in an outer suburb, but due to the city’s relatively smaller size, the furthest suburbs for buyers with a budget close to Canberra’s $958,000 median price are still within 30 minutes of the city.
Bonner's median house price closely matches Canberra's median price. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Buyers looking in the north could focus on Bonner, Amaroo, Palmerston, Franklin and Throsby, while Gowrie and Conder are options in the south.
Duffy and Fisher in the west are about 20 minutes from the CBD, but Macquarie is closest at about a 15-minute drive.
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