Bargain suburbs lead price surge

The home at 46 Bluegrass St, Zuccoli, sold for $717,000 in August. Picture: realestate.com.au

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The Darwin real estate market continues to shake off its post-Covid lull with Palmerston leading the way in price surges in the September quarter.

The latest PropTrack home price data revealed every suburb in greater Darwin recorded price growth in the past three months, with markets also experiencing annual prices increases of up 35 per cent.

In the house market, Zuccoli came out on top in the September quarter, with the average house price up 16 per cent to $692,000.

Zuccoli was also the top performing house market nationally in the same time period.

Local agent Ursula Watson of Real Estate Central was not surprised Zuccoli was sitting at number one.

“Anything I sold over a year ago and I’m reselling now has easily increased by $80,000 to $100,000,” she said.

“Anything with a pool, a well-built home and a bit of land is really attracting buyers.

“There are also larger blocks in Zuccoli, so it captures those who want rural but can’t quite get properties in the rural area.

“They’re bouncing back to Zuccoli for the space for the side access, shed and pool.”

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Darwin real estate agent Ursula Watson of Real Estate Central. Picture: Supplied

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Ms Watson, who lives and sells in Zuccoli, said price growth in the suburb was being driven by an investor boom and first homebuyers opting for established homes over new due to build times and costs.

“I’ve lived in Zuccoli for five years now and I’ve seen it grow,” she said.

“We’ve got great school opportunities, Zuccoli Plaza has some good business and there are really good restaurants and cafes.

“Zuccoli has everything you need, so you don’t need to drive 20 minutes down the road anymore.”

Coming in second to Zuccoli, Gray and Howard Springs saw median house prices increase 13 per cent to $542,000 and $854,000 respectively in the September quarter.

Looking to annual figures, Moulden was the best performer with house prices up 35 per cent year-on-year in September, from a median of $394,000 to $534,000.

The Palmerston suburb tied in first place nationally for annual growth with Spalding and Rangeway in WA.

In Gray, the median house price rose 33 per cent since September 2024 to $543,000, also making the national top 10, while in Woodroffe, the median house price rose 31 per cent to $579,000.

The home at 11 McGregor Ct, Zuccoli, sold for $865,000 in September. Picture: realestate.com.au

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In the unit market, Karama saw the highest price growth in the past quarter, with the median unit price up 16 per cent to $343,000.

It was also in fifth place nationally behind the unit markets in Wheelers, VIC, and Lalor Park, NSW (20%), and Kanahooka, NSW, and Kooralbyn, QLD (18%).

Coming in second in the NT, Bakewell saw unit prices increase 12 per cent to a new median of $385,000, while the median unit price in Gray shot up 11 per cent to $338,000.

Year-on-year, the unit markets in Bakewell and Driver saw the greatest gains, with median prices up 26 per cent, followed by Gray (25%), Bellamack (21%) and Darwin City (20%).

REA Group senior economist Angus Moore said while Darwin had a small property market that could be volatile, it was currently strong.

“What we’re seeing is relatively solid growth in Darwin, and prices are up 11-and-a-half per cent in the past year,” he said.

“There’s been a big decline in available stock, which is probably very related to the fact that we’re seeing strong home price growth.”

Smart Real Estate director, Stewie Martin. Picture: Supplied

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Smart Real Estate director, Stewie Martin said the Darwin property market was experiencing an incredible amount of momentum.

“We are, in my humble opinion, in the strongest sellers’ market I’ve ever experienced in the Darwin and Palmerston regions,” he said.

“That won’t stop all of a sudden.

“I think we’ll see strong capital growth at least into Q1 and likely into Q2 of 2026.”

Mr Martin said Darwin’s rallying property market was driven by suburbs with low median prices attracting strong interest from buyers priced out of other suburbs and investors.

“Investors are really looking at low median prices relative to other capital cities,” he said.

“Suburbs such as Karama, Malak and Moulden historically haven’t had a lot of buying energy around them, but now they are performing well.”

The home at 22 Moulden Tce, Moulden, is for sale with a price guide of $480,000. Picture: realestate.com.au

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Mr Martin said while the latest data highlighted the upward trend in Darwin home values, prices were already surpassing those on record due to a lag between sales and settlement, as well as a high volume of off-market sales.

“The true nature of what is being achieved isn’t being picked up by the data,” he said.

“This is particularly important for buyers.

“If you’re looking at historical data and sales from a few months ago, the market has moved since then.

“You need to present an offer that is a bit north above what you’re seeing in the sold section.”

Mr Moore said nationally, home prices growth remained steady but not at the pace of recent years.

“Prices are moving upwards, but not particularly quickly,” he said.

“That’s really been driven by the fact that interest rates have come down and that has started to give people a little more that they can spend.”

HOUSE MARKET – Top quarter-on-quarter growth

HOUSE MARKET – Top year-on-year growth

UNIT MARKET – Top quarter-on-quarter growth

UNIT MARKET – Top year-on-year growth

(SOURCE: PropTrack)