Australia’s hottest suburbs for buyers in 2025 have been revealed, and they range from units in one of the nation’s most expensive locales to a flood-prone suburb in one of the strongest markets of the year.
They also reflect the housing affordability crisis, as buyers look to suburbs further out, or turn to units as a way to enter the increasingly financially prohibitive property market.
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty said that, overwhelmingly, the most in demand suburbs across most of Australia’s capital cities were in more affordable pockets, typically in outer suburban areas.
“This highlights the fact that more buyers have been priced out a growing number of established suburbs in the inner and middle rings,” she said.
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REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty
The team at realestate.com.au crunched the data to reveal the most in demand suburbs of 2025 based on key enquiries, as opposed to views per listing.
Key enquiries refers to the number of actual enquiries made by potential buyers rather than clicks per listing.
Units in Darlington in Sydney, where the median house price is $1.82 million, recorded the most key enquiries across the capitals and major regions in the past 12 months, with 154 enquiries per unit listing.
The median unit price in the sought-after inner-city suburb is now $1.25 million after recording a decline of 7.4 per cent over the year.
A year ago, an apartment in the inner-city suburb was $1.35 million, according to the latest REA Market Trends report.
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A one bedroom unit in this Darlington complex sold for $1.07m
Hot on its heels with 154 key enquiries per listing were houses in St Marys in Sydney’s Outer West and Blue Mountains region, followed by houses in Point Piper in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs, Werrington in Sydney’s Outer West and Blue Mountains, and the flood-prone suburb of Rocklea in Brisbane’s South.
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19 Wunulla Road, Point Piper, sold for $26.5m
Ms Flaherty said that while the majority of suburbs were located in the more affordable pockets of their capital cities, the inclusion of Point Piper and Rose Bay, which both have medians well above Sydney’s average, was likely due to how tightly-held properties in these suburbs were, resulting in strong demand when homes come up for sale.
Meanwhile, Rocklea, where pockets of the suburb have been flooded numerous times, remains affordable by Brisbane standards, with buyers jumping on affordable homes despite the risks.
39 Inskip Street, Rocklea, sold for $870,000, but it was not clear if it was ever flood affected
Rounding out the top 15 suburbs for demand were the Sydney house suburbs of Allawah, Wollstonecraft, Rose Bay, Crows Nest, and Windsor Downs, units in Fairfield Heights in Sydney and Herston in Brisbane, Holgate on the NSW Central Coast, Kentlyn in Sydney’s Outer South West and Forestdale in Brisbane’s Logan-Beaudesert region.
1-5 Blyth Court, Forestdale, sold for $1.42m
Ms Flaherty said that similar factors also impacted the performance in regional markets.
“In the case of Townsville, its relative affordability, population growth and solid economy are attracting owner occupiers and investors, many of whom have been priced out of Queensland’s more expensive regions,” she said.
Condon was the top suburbs for houses in Townsville with 63 enquiries per listing, while units in Cranbrook had 70.
In Cairns, the top suburbs were White Rock (houses, 65) and Earlville (units, 52).
Elsewhere,the top suburb for houses in each of the other capitals and major regions were: Perth, White Gum Valley; Adelaide, Summertown; Hobart, Herdmans Cove; Darwin, Driver; Canberra, Belconnen; Geelong, Whittington, and on the Gold Coast, Bilinga and Stapylton were the top spots for house hunters.
17 Bickles Road, Summertown, in South Australia sold for $2.069m
Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) president Melinda Jennison said that it was no longer just wealthy clients reaching out to buyers agents for help to crack the market.
They now range from first-home buyers to investors, interstate and overseas buyers, and even time-poor locals trying to get a grasp on the fast-moving market.
“Properties can be under contracts within days and, on top of that, a lot of people don’t really understand the market,” Ms Jennison said.
“A recent report found that a lot of buyers are shopping behind the market and are looking for something that no longer exists.
“They don’t understand market value and are looking for help to get some alignment to make sure they can actually get into the market.”
264 Coolangatta Road, Bilinga, on the Gold Coast sold for $1.4m
Ms Jennison said the problem facing buyers now was that a lot of properties were being listed without prices, especially in southeast Queensland, or with price ranges that don’t align with buyer demand.
“Agents love high volume enquiry as it makes them look good to their clients, but it is making it hard for buyers to understand the tricks some agents use to create competition, especially in an environment where listings are scarce,” she said.
“And it is only going to get tougher due to high demand and lack of supply, which is creating FOMO (fear of missing out) as buyers fear that if they don’t act fast, in a months time, the prices will just rise further, especially given that the supply pipeline is not keeping up.
“The problem with that (FOMO) is that it can kead to buyers making irrational decisions that can put them at financial risk.”
4 Kumali Place, Herdsmans Cove, in Hobart sold for $505,000
Ms Jennison said that the parents of many first-home buyer clients were engaging buyers agents to help them get into the market, avoid overpaying and understand the risks of certain property purchases, such as buying into body corporate schemes.
“Undoubtedly we will see further price growth due to supply shortages, and the reality is that prices are growing quickly,” she said.
“And buyers are worried that buying a home will only get further out of reach.”
REEBA president and Streamline Property Buyers managing director Melinda Jennison
And Canstar’s latest Consumer Pulse Report has laid out those fears, with the cost of housing the top financial concern heading into 2026.
It is the fourth year in a row that housing costs, which includes mortgages and rents, have been the biggest fear for Aussies, and is now more than double what it was a few years ago.
“Despite three cash rate cuts this year, the cost of housing is still the nation’s biggest financial pressure,” Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said.
“The RBA relief has helped, but not nearly enough to unwind years of surging mortgage repayments and escalating rents.”
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TOP 10:
SYDNEY (houses and units): Darlington (units, 164), St Marys (houses, 154), Point Piper and Werrington (houses, 153), Allawah (houses, 149), Wollstonecraft (houses, 148), Rose Bay and Crows Nest (houses, 135), Windsor Downs (houses, 131) and Fairfield Heights (units, 130).
MELBOURNE (houses and units): Coolaroo (houses, 108), Dallas (houses, 95), Campbellfield (houses, 83), Broadmeadows (houses, 79), Jacana (houses, 77), Noble Park North (75), Caulfield East (units, 73), Craigieburn (houses, 72), Frankston North (houses, 70) and Melton (houses, 68).
16 Almurta Avenue, Coolaroo, sold for $663,000
BRISBANE (houses and units): Rocklea (houses, 153), Herston (units, 130), Forestdale (houses, 125), Redbank Plains (houses, 123), Waterford West (houses, 122), Graceville (units, 118), Hillcrest and Darra (houses, 116) and Woodridge and Gailes (houses, 115).
PERTH (all houses): White Gum Valley (110), Wembley (109), Salter Point (104), Banjup (102), Myaree (99), Murdoch, Winthrop and Palmyra (97), Flireat (96) and Bateman (94).
ADELAIDE (all houses): Summertown (98), Stirling (92), Upper Sturt (88), One Tree Hill (87), Norton Summit and Welland (86), Elizabeth (83), College Park and Mylor (82), and Kersbrook (80).
HOBART (all houses): Herdsmans Cove (64), Goodwood (55), Otago (50), Claremont (48), Derwent Park and Glenorchy (47), Fern Tree (43), Clearendon Vale, West Moonha and Hobart (41).
DARWIN (all houses): Driver (58), Farrar (53), Alawa (51), Zuccoli (48), Millner (47), Herbert (46), Leanyer and Jingili (45) and Wagaman and Girraween (41).
CANBERRA (houses and units): Belconnen (houses, 28), Kaleen (houses, 26), Turner, Bonner and Isabella Springs (houses, 25), Kaleen (units, 25), Ngunnawal, Charnwood and Holt (houses, 24) and Ainslie and Pages (houses, 23).
GEELONG (houses and units): Whittington (houses, 57). Norlane (houses, 52), Corio (houses, 50), Newcomb (houses, 45), Belmont (houses, 41), Thomson (houses, 40), Belmont (units, 38), Breakwater (houses, 35), Grovedale (houses, 34), Anakie and Hamlyn Heights (houses, 31), and Clifton Springs (units, 31).
97 Townsend Road, Whittington, has a price guide of $599,000 – $639,000
GOLD COAST (houses and units): Bilinga and Stapylton (houses, 101), Molendinar (units, 98), Coomera (houses, 94), Canungra (houses, 88), Pimpama (houses, 84), Kingsholme (houses, 83), Yatala (houses, 82), Coomera (units, 82)
, and Helensvale and Currumbin (houses, 81).
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