The Block host Scott Cam has helped turn Aussie suburbs into household names, with new data revealing which postcodes now dominate Australia’s reality TV map.
Australia’s most iconic reality TV suburbs have been revealed, with Melbourne dominating the national leaderboard while Sydney’s coastal stars surge in value and Queensland muscles in as the country’s new lifestyle contender.
An analysis of the suburbs most frequently featured across Australia’s biggest renovation and property shows from The Block and Dream Home to Grand Designs Australia and House Rules paired with fresh PropTrack market data, shows a dramatic reshaping of where Australians most want to live and renovate.
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And for the first time, the suburbs that captivate viewers on screen are not always the ones commanding the hottest demand in the real market.
Melbourne remains the country’s most relied-upon filming backdrop, home to seven of the nation’s top ten “reality suburbs”, including South Melbourne, St Kilda, Richmond and Elsternwick.
But the market story beneath that fame tells a more complex tale, with inner-ring values stabilising while other states surge ahead.
James Nicolaou Real Estate’s Alejandro Torres said Victoria’s grip on the reality canon made perfect sense, even if price growth had cooled.
The Block continues to shape Australia’s obsession with renovation hotspots, cementing its influence on the suburbs buyers watch, and want to live in. Picture: Nine
South Melbourne, St Kilda, Richmond and Elsternwick top Melbourne’s list of reality TV suburbs thanks to their streetscapes, architecture and on-screen appeal.
“South Melbourne, St Kilda, Port Melbourne, they’re phenomenal locations,” Mr Torres said.
“If you’re producing lifestyle content, you need suburbs with instant visual appeal, and those areas deliver that effortlessly.
“They’re lifestyle powerhouses that look good from every angle.”
Mr Torres said Melbourne’s strength lay not just in its architecture but in its sheer identity range, a mix of prestige, bohemia, family pockets and coastal edges that makes the city uniquely filmable.
Broadbeach Waters surges into the national top ten as Queensland’s luxury lifestyle market powers ahead of its southern rivals.
“Melbourne has this incredible texture,” he said.
“You’ve got the ultra-prestige of Brighton and Toorak, the breezy charm of Bayside, and the fast-growing western corridors.
“For a production company, it’s a dream canvas with unlimited variety.”
But while Melbourne continues to anchor Australia’s biggest renovation franchises, local buyer behaviour has shifted as interest rate uncertainty stretches campaigns and lengthens decision time frames.
“It’s more patchy now,” Mr Torres said.
“Some homes still fly, but others take longer, buyers are cautious, they’re doing deeper due diligence and they’re less reactive than earlier in the year.
“Everyone expected rates to keep easing, and now we’re preparing for the possibility of them going up again. That absolutely changes sentiment.”
Whitefox founder Marty Fox and wife Charlotte say aspirational suburbs rise fastest when on-screen visibility matches authentic lifestyle appeal. Picture: Ash Koek
Block judge and Whitefox founder Marty Fox said there remained a strong connection between the suburbs viewers watch on screen and the ones they pursue in real life, but that visibility doesn’t always translate into performance.
“The suburbs that succeed on screen are often the same ones buyers gravitate toward,” Mr Fox said.
“They’re walkable, architectural, visually rich — places that feel alive on camera and in person.”
Sydney’s northern beaches remain one of Australia’s most filmed coastal backdrops, with demand and prestige values rising well beyond the national trend. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short
Vaucluse delivers blockbuster prestige appeal for reality television shows.
Mr Fox said Sydney’s coastal strip illustrated how prestige markets can break away dramatically from broader citywide conditions.
“Sydney’s coastal enclaves are in their own economic universe,” he said.
“High-net-worth buyers aren’t comparing suburbs anymore, they’re competing for identity.
“That’s why places like Bondi and Manly keep surging.”
According to PropTrack data, Brisbane’s Coorparoo jumps 9.1 per cent in a year, reflecting Queensland’s rise as a reality-TV-worthy lifestyle hub for prestige and family buyers alike.
Grand Designs Australia targets the suburbs where bold architecture and ambitious builds keep viewers hooked nationwide. Picture: ABC
The Whitefox founder added that reality TV doesn’t create desirability, but heightens existing appetite.
“TV doesn’t manufacture aspiration, but it definitely supercharges the narrative,” Mr Fox said.
“If a suburb is already aspirational, visibility pushes it even further into the national conversation.”
The national top ten also revealed a noteworthy shift northward, with Queensland securing two positions, and both of them on a strong upswing.
Coorparoo rose 9.1 per cent in value across the past year while Broadbeach Waters jumped 13.4 per cent, outpacing many of the more famous postcodes on screen.
Place Camp Hill’s Shane Hicks says Coorparoo’s mix of units, family homes and prestige builds explains its soaring demand on and off screen.
Coorparoo’s diverse housing listings and strong buyer appetite continue to elevate it as Queensland’s breakout reality-TV suburb.
Place Camp Hill lead agent Shane Hicks said Coorparoo’s growing profile reflected a new era in Queensland’s aspirational market behaviour.
“Coorparoo offers every rung of the ladder, from old walk-up units to prestige family homes over $3m, and buyers love that diversity,” Mr Hicks said.
“It’s consistently one of the most viewed suburbs in Queensland because it gives people so many ways to enter, stay, or upgrade.”
Bayside Melbourne’s coastal character and polished streetscapes make it a favourite setting for renovation shows and prestige buyers.
Mr Hicks said the suburb’s appeal had been magnified by changing lifestyle patterns since Covid, when professional families sought suburbs with space, schools, elevation and transport links without the old pressure of postcode status.
“We attract medical specialists, corporate families, people who want lifestyle and convenience,” he said.
“They’ll pay a premium for move-in ready quality because they’re time-poor.
“If you renovate well in Coorparoo, you’re speaking directly to buyers who will stretch for something finished and functional. That’s the new aspirational value.”
Manly remains one of Australia’s most filmed coastal suburbs, with buyers chasing the lifestyle showcased on national TV. Picture: Jeremy Piper
The Place Camp Hill partner said Queensland’s version of prestige had evolved more in the past five years than in the previous two decades.
“Historically, Brisbane’s blue-chip suburbs were Hamilton or Clayfield,” Mr Hicks said.
“But post-Covid, lifestyle and value overtook old-school prestige. Places like Coorparoo, and even Broadbeach Waters on the Coast, reflect where aspiration really sits now, in liveability, in convenience, in how people want to spend their time.”
The combined national ranking shows an aspirational split while Melbourne still shapes the country’s property identity on screen, Sydney commands the highest price premiums, and Queensland increasingly defines what families and professionals want in their next home.
Australia’s Top 10 Reality Shows
| Suburb | State | Median house price (12m) | 12-month change | Sales (12 months) | Median asking rent |
| South Melbourne | VIC | $1.43m | -4.7 per cent | 109 | $848 a week |
| St Kilda | VIC | $1.52m | -2.5 per cent | 62 | $850 a week |
| Richmond | VIC | $1.38m | 0.0 per cent | 271 | $825 a week |
| Bondi | NSW | $4.43m | 16.6 per cent | 24 | $1998 a week |
| Manly | NSW | $5.08m | 16.7 per cent | 46 | $1950 a week |
| Vaucluse | NSW | $8.85m | 3.5 per cent | 99 | $3400 a week |
| Elsternwick | VIC | $1.95m | 4.0 per cent | 67 | $900 a week |
| Coorparoo | QLD | $1.80m | 9.1 per cent | 135 | $780 a week |
| Gisborne South* | VIC | $1.00m | 2.6 per cent | 182 | $650 a week |
| Broadbeach Waters | QLD | $2.45m | 13.4 per cent | 149 | $1450 a week |
Source: PropTrack Market Trends, November 2025, List was compiled by the amount of times an Australian television show had filmed in a particular suburb from November 2015 – November 2025.
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