This Gunn home sold for $310,000 in 2002, $505,000 in 2011 and $650,000 in 2025. Picture: realestate.com.au
Darwin homebuyers are paying less for real estate than they were 15 years ago in all but one suburb once median property prices are adjusted for inflation.
PropTrack’s generational study converted past median house prices into today’s dollars and found Darwin buyers were paying up to 31 per cent less for houses than they were in 2010, and up to 54 per cent less for units.
Stuart Park was the only suburb where buyers were paying more today when looking at the adjusted values, with the median house price up 13 per cent from $786,700 (adjusted for inflation) to $891,000.
In Gunn, buyers are paying 31 per cent less than in 2010, with the suburb recording a current average house price of $522,500 compared to a corrected price of $762,400 15 years ago.
In Wagaman the difference was $228,500 or 31 per cent, while in Lyons it was $205,700 or 21 per cent.
In the unit market, the adjusted median price in Driver was 54 per cent higher in 2010 compared to 2025.
In Darwin City, the 2010 median unit price of $575,000 – equal to $797,100 today – dropped 52 per cent to a median of $380,000.
While in Larrakeyah, the drop from the adjusted 2010 prices was 48 per cent, from $686,200 to $360,000.
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This Wagaman home sold for $156,000 in 2000, $530,000 in 2012 and $610,000 in 2025. Picture: realestate.com.au
Real Estate Central director, Michael Van De Graaf said in 2010 the Darwin property market was between two peaks influenced by major projects.
“The market took off in about 2003 with the Bechtel gas project,” he said.
“We had a bit of a downturn around about 2010 and then the market picked up again with the announcement of the Inpex project.
“We had so much work up here, but the problem was we then had strong population growth and accommodation was hard to find, so rents went through the roof.
“Initially we saw a lot of interstate investors in the market and then the local mum and dad investors.
“I’d say 2014 was the top of the market – 2010 was much more affordable than 2014.”
Mr Van De Graaf said currently Darwin was the most affordable capital city in the country, with strong returns and potential for solid capital growth once again attracting investors.
“Darwin is certainly a market on the tipping point, if not already past it,” he said.
“What we’re seeing now is a lot of interstate investors around that median price range.
“We’re selling around about 50 per cent of properties to investors … and supply is starting to dwindle.”
Real Estate Central director, Michael Van De Graaf. Picture: Supplied
The PropTrack generational study also showed today’s Darwin homebuyers were paying far more than those from 2000.
The median house price in Bakewell 25 years ago was $53,250. Corrected for inflation, that is $97,000.
Today, buyers in Bakewell are paying 400 per cent more, with the average cost of a house sitting at $485,000.
In Virginia, the difference between the adjusted 2000 median house price and the current median house price was 375 per cent, while in Gunn it was 345 per cent and in Humpty Doo it was 148 per cent.
PropTrack economist Angus Moore said the rapid growth in home prices since the 1990s was linked to lower interest rates during that time.
The cash rate in 1990 was 17 per cent but had dropped to 6.25 per cent by the end of 2000 and 4.25 per cent by the end of 2001.
Mr Moore said lower interest rates allowed for larger loans.
“When interest rates are lower, people can afford to service a larger mortgage, which then creates greater competition in the housing market and that has allowed home prices to rise much faster than wages,” he said.
The Reserve Bank of Australia this month cut 25 basis points from the official cash rate to 3.85 per cent.
Mr Moore said while this gave buyers a boost in borrowing power, it did not offset the growing cost of saving for a deposit.
“The deposit hurdle is just unequivocally harder than it was four or five decades ago, and that has manifested in home ownership rates which have fallen over those years,” he said.
Mr Moore said young people were taking longer to enter the market, relying more on family support, or accessing government incentives to buy with a smaller deposit.
“Most first-homebuyers don’t have a 20 per cent deposit available,” he said.
This Bakewell home sold for $250,000 in 2005, $367,000 in 2008, $370,000 in 2020 and $630,000 in 2025. Picture: realestate.com.au
DARWIN PROPERTY PRICES – 2010 VS 2025
| HOUSES | ||||
| Suburb | Median price 2010 | Adjusted to today’s $ | 2025 median price | Difference |
| Gunn | $550,000 | $762,400 | $522,500 | -31% |
| Wagaman | $540,000 | $748,500 | $520,000 | -31% |
| Lyons | $707,500 | $980,700 | $775,000 | -21% |
| Anula | $540,000 | $748,500 | $545,000 | -27% |
| Karama | $483,025 | $669,600 | $470,000 | -30% |
| Leanyer | $572,500 | $793,600 | $598,000 | -25% |
| Wulagi | $532,500 | $738,200 | $545,000 | -26% |
| Durack | $555,500 | $770,000 | $579,000 | -25% |
| Millner | $541,750 | $751,000 | $560,000 | -25% |
| Bakewell | $486,250 | $674,000 | $485,000 | -28% |
| Woodroffe | $460,000 | $637,700 | $450,000 | -29% |
| Farrar | $547,500 | $758,900 | $572,500 | -25% |
| Malak | $500,017 | $693,100 | $510,000 | -26% |
| Gray | $435,000 | $603,000 | $420,000 | -30% |
| Moulden | $426,500 | $591,200 | $425,000 | -28% |
| Driver | $449,000 | $622,400 | $460,000 | -26% |
| Moil | $510,000 | $707,000 | $547,500 | -23% |
| Tiwi | $515,000 | $713,900 | $575,000 | -19% |
| Wanguri | $535,000 | $741,600 | $622,500 | -16% |
| Jingili | $540,000 | $748,500 | $630,000 | -16% |
| Rosebery | $500,000 | $693,100 | $590,000 | -15% |
| Howard Springs | $590,000 | $817,900 | $770,000 | -6% |
| Rapid Creek | $585,000 | $810,900 | $800,000 | -1% |
| Humpty Doo | $482,500 | $668,800 | $660,000 | -1% |
| Nightcliff | $745,000 | $1,032,700 | $1,025,000 | -1% |
| Stuart Park | $567,500 | $786,700 | $891,000 | 13% |
| UNITS | ||||
| Suburb | Median price 2010 | Adjusted to today’s $ | 2025 median price | Difference |
| Driver | $385,000 | $533,700 | $247,500 | -54% |
| Darwin City | $575,000 | $797,100 | $380,000 | -52% |
| Larrakeyah | $495,000 | $686,200 | $360,000 | -48% |
| Bakewell | $392,000 | $543,400 | $289,000 | -47% |
| Gray | $360,000 | $499,000 | $272,500 | -45% |
| Leanyer | $407,500 | $564,900 | $328,000 | -42% |
| Stuart Park | $540,000 | $748,500 | $437,100 | -42% |
| Bayview | $760,000 | $1,053,500 | $627,500 | -40% |
| Millner | $395,000 | $547,500 | $335,000 | -39% |
| Coconut Grove | $405,000 | $561,400 | $370,000 | -34% |
| Parap | $460,000 | $637,700 | $435,000 | -32% |
| Fannie Bay | $480,000 | $665,400 | $460,000 | -31% |
| Rapid Creek | $415,000 | $575,300 | $405,000 | -30% |
| Rosebery | $395,000 | $547,500 | $396,000 | -28% |
| Nightcliff | $303,000 | $420,000 | $330,000 | -21% |
SOURCE: PropTrack
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