Australia’s professional property buyers are zeroing in on a handful of markets they believe have stronger price growth prospects than the rest of the nation.
Buyer's agents across the nation are pivoting to previously unloved property markets, shifting the focus of investors to locations that are primed for price growth.
As traditionally investor-heavy markets become near the top of their cycle, professional property buyers are looking to areas where affordability, infrastructure and lifestyle changes could provide the next catalyst for growth.
Interstate investors have been increasingly active in recent years, helping fuel price growth in the smaller capitals and regional cities as the largest cities lag behind.
But experts say previously-sleepy markets could be set to re-awaken as investors look to buy into the next big thing before it booms.
Why investors buy interstate
Simon Pressley, managing director of Brisbane-based national buyer’s agency Propertyology, said investing interstate wasn’t just about finding more affordable properties, but also about removing hometown bias.
“If you're going to buy a property for investment purposes, completely disregard the city you're currently living in, where you’ve lived before, and where you might like to live, because it's not about you,” he said.
“Someone who lives in Brisbane and has a family home there, if they're ready to invest in real estate now, the very first location to cross out is Brisbane.”
Propertyology managing director Simon Pressley says investing interstate avoids putting too many eggs in one basket. Picture: Supplied
Looking further afield allows investors to take advantage of economic growth at the state and city level, which doesn’t always move at the same rate around Australia, he said.
“What has the single biggest influence on the property market is how the economy of each city performs,” he said.
“The best state economies throughout Australia at the moment are Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, but there are better opportunities outside their capital cities.”
Brisbane (pictured), Perth and Adelaide have been the strongest housing markets lately, but experts there may be opportunities for stronger growth in other markets. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Property prices have almost doubled in the past five years in both capitals and regional areas in these states, PropTrack data shows.
In just a few short years, Perth has gone from being the second-cheapest capital to the third-most expensive, with its median home value now sitting at $987,000 after rising almost 20% in the past year.
PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said a shortage of available homes had kept prices elevated in the fastest-growing capitals.
“The strongest conditions remain concentrated in markets where buyer demand is facing into tight supply, particularly Perth, Darwin, Brisbane and Adelaide,” she said.
Home price growth - 12 months to February 2026
While the strongest housing markets in recent years still had momentum, Mr Pressley said Australia’s southernmost state was also one to watch, with growth beginning to turn around.
“Another state economy to pay attention to is Tasmania, which has shown a resurgence in recent times,” Ms Pressley said.
Hobart’s median home price increased by 9.2% in the past year to $718,000 – just below its record high – with growth outpacing Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, according to PropTrack data.
Strategy first
Goose McGrath, chief executive of property investment firm Dashdot, said building a successful property portfolio wasn’t just about finding the next location to take off.
“It’s not just a collection of properties,” he said. “It’s a sequence of investments purchased in a way to help you arrive at your goal.”
Dashdot chief executive Goose McGrath said jobs, lifestyle and affordability were key factors when choosing where to invest, but suburb selection ultimately should depend on an investor's individual needs. Picture: Supplied
He said most investors would typically require between four and six properties to achieve financial freedom within 10 to 20 years.
“Understanding the specific constraints of your portfolio is going to inform what assets you need to buy in what order and why,” he said. “The location selection comes downstream from first having a strategy.”
He said the only states the firm was buying in at the moment were Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, having previously focused on Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
“There’s over 15,000 suburbs in Australia, but at any given time we’re buying in around 100 suburbs,” he said. “Out of 100 locations, maybe only 20 of them are appropriate for someone's individual property selection strategy.”
Timing the cycle
Matthew Hughes, managing director of Perth-based Capital Property Advisory, said although the strongest capitals have delivered remarkable gains, investors needed to be more selective during the later stages of a growth cycle.
While Perth had outperformed the other capitals, huge price rises meant the budget required to purchase an investment property had lifted considerably.
Capital Property Advisory chief executive Matthew Hughes says durable long-term price growth trumps jumping in and out of hot markets. Picture: Supplied
“Perth and Brisbane are in a similar spot at the moment,” he said. “There’s still growth ahead in the cycle, but if you're an investor you want to time your entry better on both of those markets.”
The situation was a little different in Adelaide, where he tipped a stronger flow of new homes could shift the supply dynamics.
“Adelaide has outperformed massively but I think it's going to soften first and harder ahead of Perth and Brisbane,” he said.
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Mr Hughes said he had deliberately avoided some popular markets that had become targets of interstate investors.
“People piled in Darwin – we didn’t,” he said. “We don’t put people into the next town that’s going to boom where all the other investors are piling into.”
“It’s a short term sugar hit rather than long term outperformance.”
The contrarian pick
Despite broader economic concerns including ballooning state government debt and high taxes, Mr Hughes said Victoria was best-placed among the states for durable long-term growth.
“On balance Victoria and Melbourne represent the best value proposition at the moment,” he said. “Over the next five years the growth upside there is better than anywhere else that we've identified in the country.”
Melbourne's middle-ring suburbs have been tipped to outperform in the long-term after an extended slow period. Picture: Getty
With a median home value of $854,000, Melbourne is now the third-most affordable capital city after Darwin and Hobart.
The city’s five-year median home price growth of about 13% has lagged the national rate of 45% in that time, and was well behind Perth’s 98% increase.
“It’s sitting much lower in the pricing hierarchy than it typically does,” Mr Hughes said.
While some of Melbourne’s outer suburbs have been swamped by an influx of investors recently, these areas weren’t where Mr Hughes was focused.
Geelong has emerged as an investor magnet, with more affordable prices than Melbourne and higher rental yields. Picture: Getty
“Where we are buying for investors is predominantly middle ring Melbourne and some parts of regional Victoria, especially Geelong,” he said.
“Geelong has got very high projected population growth and it’s also a market which gives you a little bit better yield.”
Jobs, lifestyle and affordability
Mr McGrath said regional locations were typically favoured due to the balance of jobs, lifestyle and relative affordability, with most properties the firm purchased for clients priced between $450,000 and $750,000.
“A great example is a major regional centre like Ballarat – places that have significant economic substance, they are desirable for people to live and raise a family, they have features and characteristics that make them liveable,” he said. “Plus the median house prices are acceptable.”
Launceston and Bendigo were two other regional cities that fit this brief, he said.
Hedging bets
InvestorKit chief executive Arjun Paliwal said deciding where to invest wasn’t just about picking the next market to boom, but increasing diversity within a property portfolio to take advantage of different stages of the growth cycle.
“Very rarely have all locations come together and had their growth or declines at the same time,” he said.
InvestorKit chief executive Arjun Paliwal says choosing where to buy can depend on an investor's existing portfolio. Picture: Supplied
He said Melbourne was the best “value buy” at the moment, while several regional markets with strong momentum were also on the radar for investors looking for immediate growth.
“Melbourne is a market at the start of its cycle,” he said. “Local affordability trends have been improving, even amongst the state economy and tax woes.”
Most investors he was working with were purchasing in NSW and Victoria, he said.
“Dubbo, Townsville, Rockhampton, Mildura, Tamworth and Albury‑Wodonga are affordable growth markets," he said. "Newcastle, Maitland and Bathurst have been growing quite aggressively too.”
Mr Paliwal singled out Dubbo as a market on the rise – the median house price rose by about 10% in the past year. Picture: Getty Images
Mr Paliwal said he had diversified his own portfolio to take advantage of both short and long-term growth.
“I bought a property in Melbourne for myself, then right afterwards I bought a property in Dubbo.”
“I knew Melbourne was going to be a slower start but I was value-buying. I hedged my bets with a market that would grow instantly.”
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