Demand has soared in dozens of suburbs across the country, challenging assumptions that buyers are retreating from the market.
New PropTrack data has shown that the level of buyer enquiry has more than doubled in many affordable suburbs across Australia, despite a series of shocks that have rocked the market.
While auction clearance rates have fallen and prices have pulled back in some cities amid property tax changes affecting investors, buyers in other parts of the country have been increasingly eager to snap up properties.
The data reveals which suburbs recorded the largest increase in the average number of key enquiries per property listing on realestate.com.au in the past 12 months.
It shows that levels of buyer enquiry have surged in many hotspots of affordability across the nation, with buyers focusing on areas that are expected to outperform the market.
Top 20 suburbs with the biggest increase in buyer demand - houses
| Suburb | State | GCCSA | Region (SA4) | YoY % change in enquiries per listing | Median value (AVM) | |
| 1 | Risdon Vale | TAS | Greater Hobart | Hobart | 265% | $575,000 |
| 2 | Chigwell | TAS | Greater Hobart | Hobart | 254% | $608,000 |
| 3 | Cashmere | QLD | Greater Brisbane | Moreton Bay - South | 250% | $1,691,000 |
| 4 | Austral | NSW | Greater Sydney | Sydney - South West | 239% | $1,077,000 |
| 5 | Rosebery | NSW | Greater Sydney | Sydney - City and Inner South | 233% | $2,176,000 |
| 6 | Wagga Wagga | NSW | Rest of NSW | Riverina | 231% | $802,000 |
| 7 | Bathurst | NSW | Rest of NSW | Central West | 226% | $706,000 |
| 8 | Leppington | NSW | Greater Sydney | Sydney - South West | 221% | $1,222,000 |
| 9 | Upper Burnie | TAS | Rest of Tas. | West and North West | 217% | $546,000 |
| 10 | Sebastopol | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Ballarat | 217% | $534,000 |
| 11 | Glenvale | QLD | Rest of Qld | Toowoomba | 213% | $884,000 |
| 12 | Kooringal | NSW | Rest of NSW | Riverina | 201% | $688,000 |
| 13 | Long Gully | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Bendigo | 193% | $548,000 |
| 14 | Cessnock | NSW | Rest of NSW | Hunter Valley exc Newcastle | 192% | $739,000 |
| 15 | Bridgewater | TAS | Greater Hobart | Hobart | 192% | $554,000 |
| 16 | Castlemaine | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Bendigo | 185% | $734,000 |
| 17 | Shorewell Park | TAS | Rest of Tas. | West and North West | 181% | $448,000 |
| 18 | Berriedale | TAS | Greater Hobart | Hobart | 172% | $694,000 |
| 19 | Batemans Bay | NSW | Rest of NSW | Capital Region | 170% | $734,000 |
| 20 | Wendouree | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Ballarat | 169% | $555,000 |
Enquiry data serves as a gauge of buyer demand, measuring high-intent actions on property listings such as emailing an enquiry, calling the agent or downloading documents.
Tracking changes in buyer enquiry can determine whether the level of interest in a suburb is rising, falling or remaining steady.
The number of enquiries per listing in Batemans Bay has almost tripled in the past year, PropTrack data shows. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
An increase in buyer demand is often associated with stronger future price growth, said REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty.
“Typically, enquiries act as a leading indicator of demand, suggesting these areas are likely to be more price resilient compared to other markets,” she said.
However, Ms Flaherty said tighter lending conditions and recent property tax changes could keep price growth in check.
“Buyers are still operating in a high interest rate environment with lower rates of investor demand, which could limit the extent to which prices grow.”
Smaller cities in focus
While booming capital cities such as Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin have recorded huge price increases in the past year, this wasn’t where the suburbs with the biggest increase in buyer demand were found.
Instead, suburbs that are increasingly drawing the attention of buyers were mostly found in smaller cities.
Ms Flaherty said the areas attracting more buyer demand typically had lower home prices, with affordability increasingly prioritised by property seekers.
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“These suburbs tend to be in more affordable areas, making them less sensitive to higher interest rates than more expensive capital city locations.”
“Many regional areas have also benefited from continued population growth and lifestyle-driven migration, while limited new housing supply has helped keep buyer demand relatively resilient despite softer conditions nationally.”
Outer suburbs of Hobart recorded some of the largest increases in demand. Enquiries jumped a massive 265% in Risdon Vale, with significant growth recorded in Chigwell (up 154%), Bridgewater (up 192%) and Berridale (up 172%).
Affordable outer suburbs of Hobart such as Risdone Vale have drawn increased number of buyers in the past year. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Prices in Hobart are tipped to keep rising this year and next, with a supply crunch expected to support home values, according to the latest realestate.com.au Property Market Outlook.
The demand explosion wasn’t limited to Hobart, with Upper Burnie and Shorewell Park in Tasmania’s northwest also recording significantly increased enquiry levels.
Real estate agent Selena Elphinstone of Harcourts Burnie said properties in the area were in a sweet spot that appealed to both first-home buyers and investors.
“The median house prices are within reach of first-home buyers,” she said. “We’re getting increased enquiry for properties that rent well and in areas where there’s a high demand for tenancy.”
While competition has cooled a little in the past few weeks as buyers digest the tax changes introduced in the federal budget, Ms Elphinstone said affordable properties for sale were still receiving multiple offers.
In NSW, suburbs with big increases in enquiries were mostly found outside Sydney, which is the priciest capital city with a median house price of $1.58 million – still within 2.5% of the record high recorded in November last year.
In the state’s most sought-after suburbs for buyers, median house values are mostly in the $700,000 to $800,000 range – about half the price of a typical Sydney home.
The average level of enquiry for houses jumped 231% in Wagga Wagga, 226% in Bathurst and 192% in Cessnock.
House prices have increased by between 10% and 17% in these suburbs in the past year, according to PropTrack data.
Regional cities in NSW such as Wagga Wagga (pictured), Bathurst and Cessnock have had increased demand from buyers recently. Picture: Getty
The number of buyers searching is exceeding available supply in regional cities with diverse economies such as Wagga Wagga, according to national buyer's agent Kane Dury of Discover Buyers Agency.
“Wagga is the classic multi-engine regional city with defence, health, education, agriculture, and transport all driving the local economy. It also has a tight rental market driving rents and pices higher,” he said.
Even within Sydney itself, the most sought-after suburbs included Austral and Leppington in the city’s west, where houses are much more affordable and median values are closer to the $1 million mark.
Rosebery in Sydney’s inner city was an outlier among a list of mostly-affordable suburbs, with a median value above $2 million.
Buyers hunt for value in Victoria
In Victoria, suburbs in the regional cities of Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong had some of the largest increases in buyer demand.
Enquiry levels for houses were two to three times higher than a year ago in Sebastopol and Wendouree in Ballarat and Long Gully in Bendigo.
This two-bedroom brick house in Wendouree, an in-demand suburb of Ballarat, sold for $500,000 last week. Picture: realestate.com.au
Mr Dury said more buyers were drawn to Victoria's smaller cities such as Ballarat and Bendigo, which offered better value than Melbourne.
“Both cities have hospitals, universities, government employment and strong commuter links, with established period homes still available in the $600,000s and $700,000s," he said.
Top 20 suburbs with the biggest increase in buyer demand - units
| Suburb | State | GCCSA | Region (SA4) | YoY % change in enquiries per listing | Median value (AVM) | |
| 1 | Airlie Beach | QLD | Rest of Qld | Mackay - Isaac - Whitsunday | 239% | $710,000 |
| 2 | Clayton | VIC | Greater Melbourne | Melbourne - South East | 225% | $692,000 |
| 3 | Portland | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Warrnambool and South West | 208% | $325,000 |
| 4 | Bundall | QLD | Rest of Qld | Gold Coast | 196% | $806,000 |
| 5 | Colac | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Warrnambool and South West | 181% | $406,000 |
| 6 | Mudgee | NSW | Rest of NSW | Central West | 153% | $526,000 |
| 7 | Surfers Paradise | QLD | Rest of Qld | Gold Coast | 150% | $854,000 |
| 8 | Armidale | NSW | Rest of NSW | New England and North West | 130% | $403,000 |
| 9 | St Kilda | VIC | Greater Melbourne | Melbourne - West | 125% | $524,000 |
| 10 | Broadbeach | QLD | Rest of Qld | Gold Coast | 123% | $1,101,000 |
| 11 | Ballarat Central | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Ballarat | 121% | $436,000 |
| 12 | West Footscray | VIC | Greater Melbourne | Melbourne - West | 121% | $533,000 |
| 13 | Dandenong | VIC | Greater Melbourne | Melbourne - Inner South | 119% | $492,000 |
| 14 | Ropes Crossing | NSW | Greater Sydney | Sydney - Blacktown | 116% | $742,000 |
| 15 | Upper Mount Gravatt | QLD | Greater Brisbane | Brisbane - South | 113% | $886,000 |
| 16 | Grovedale | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Geelong | 112% | $547,000 |
| 17 | Cannonvale | QLD | Rest of Qld | Mackay - Isaac - Whitsunday | 111% | $563,000 |
| 18 | Herne Hill | VIC | Rest of Vic. | Geelong | 110% | $385,000 |
| 19 | Howrah | TAS | Greater Hobart | Hobart | 106% | $645,000 |
| 20 | Riverstone | NSW | Greater Sydney | Sydney - Blacktown | 104% | $908,000 |
About half of the top 20 suburbs ranked by increase in unit enquiries were located in Victoria.
There were twice as many enquiries for units as a year ago in the Geelong suburbs of Grovedale and Herne Hill, while the level of unit enquiry has essentially tripled in Colac and Portland in the state's west.
Within Melbourne, unit buyers have shown significantly more interest in Clayton, St Kilda, West Footscray, and Dandenong in the past 12 months.
Investors have been eager to buy into St Kilda to take advantage of strong rental yields, agents say. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Real estate agent and McGrath St Kilda principal Nicole Prime said there had been a rush of investors looking to buy in St Kilda since the start of the year.
“Interstate investors see value because our yield is so good down here,” she said.
Ms Prime said in the past few weeks, investors purchasing through self-managed superannuation funds had been clamouring to get into the market before the federal government’s ban on limited-recourse borrowing within super funds takes effect on August 10.
Demand for units has exploded in tourism hotspot Airlie Beach in Queensland, and prices have increased 19% in the past year. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
In Queensland, Airlie Beach in the Whitsunday region recorded the nation’s largest increase in enquiries for units – up a whopping 239% compared to a year ago – while enquiries more than doubled in nearby Cannonvale.
Demand for units was much higher in the Gold Coast suburbs of Bundall (up 196%) and Surfers Paradise (up 150%).
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