Ten hottest suburban property markets for 2024 are in one city
Property prices in Perth are defying a gradual easing in the rate of capital growth being seen elsewhere in the nation and dominating lists of the nation's hottest real estate markets.
If you bought property anywhere in Australia other than Perth, then your home is not among the 10 fastest rising markets in the country.
All 10 suburbs where prices have risen the fastest in 2024 are in the West Australian capital, and one affordable part of the city has dominated within that list.
The working class City of Kwinana stands atop the national podium, with its suburbs of Medina, Parmelia and Orelia the three fastest growing property markets in the nation and Calista coming in sixth overall.
All of the suburbs in the PropTrack top 10 were relatively affordable places to buy.
South Australia came closest to competing with Perth for price growth in 2024 to date, with top ranked Elizabeth Park having house price growth of 17.1 per cent, still 6 per cent below Perth’s tenth placed Coolbellup.
With the exception of SA’s sixth placed West Lakes’ median house price of $1,074,000, eight of the other nine had even more affordable values than Perth’s top 10, being under $550,000.
Highlighting Melbourne’s stable but subdued property market throughout 2024, the top ten suburbs delivered capital growth between 6.7 per cent (Rutherglen) and 3.6 per cent (Kyabram).
CoreLogic’s daily home value index has seen a marked easing in the rolling four week change, with national values rising just 0.5 per cent over the four weeks to 18 July, down from a 0.7 per cent rise seen the same time last month.
The recent slowdown is notably stronger across more expensive markets and property types with house values and values in Sydney recording the most noticeable easing.
Melbourne and Hobart are the only capitals recording falling values, with high stock levels placing downside pressure on values.
Perth continues to lead the pack, with a rolling 28-day increase of 1.8 per cent, followed by Adelaide (1.7 per cent) and Brisbane (1.0 per cent). The trend for softer growth is less apparent in these cities.
Perth is the property story of 2024
But the real story of capital growth in Australia at the moment belongs to one boom city.
The median Perth house sale price set a new record month after month over the financial year, and is now $665,000 for the year to June 2024. This is 18.8 per cent higher than at the end of the 2022-23 financial year.
The median unit sale price increased 11.3 per cent year-on-year to reach $445,000, according to REIWA, just $5,000 below the previous record of $450,000 in 2014.
REIWA CEO Cath Hart said she expects this record to be broken in the next few months.
Viveash, which recorded the highest price growth for houses, had its median house sale price increase 40.9 per cent over 2023-24 to $620,000, highlighting the rush to mid and lower priced property.
Top 10 Suburbs for median price growth (houses)
| SUBURB | ANNUAL HOUSE SALE PRICE | CHANGE IN ANNUAL HOUSE PRICE | ANNUAL MEDIAN SELLING DAYS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viveash | $620,000 | 40.9% | 7 |
| 2 | Hillman | $537,000 | 39.5% | 5 |
| 3 | Armadale | $460,000 | 39.4% | 7 |
| 4 | Midvale | $515,000 | 38.3% | 8 |
| 5 | Shelley | $1,269,999 | 38.0% | 15 |
| 6 | Kallaroo | $1,220,500 | 37.1% | 14 |
| 7 | Kelmscott | $503,600 | 35.3% | 8 |
| 8 | Henley Brook | $735,000 | 35.2% | 9 |
| 9 | Lockridge | $513,000 | 35.0% | 8 |
| 10 | Haynes | $605,000 | 34.7% | 8 |
“Affordability remains a focus for buyers and this is reflected in the makeup of the financial year’s top 10 suburbs for house price growth,” Ms Hart said.
“The majority have a median sale price below Perth’s median and only two have a median house sale price over $1million.
“It indicates strong demand for suburbs in more affordable price brackets.
“Demand is also reflected in their selling times, with the more affordable suburbs on the list having a median time on market that is nearly half that of the suburbs with a median over $1 million.”
In the unit market, Cottesloe was the top performer, with its median sale price rising 50.9 per cent to $1,200,000. Bayswater recorded growth of more than 40 per cent.
Like the top 10 list for house price growth, seven of the suburbs in the top 10 for units have a median sale price under Perth’s median unit price.
Top 10 suburbs for median price growth (units)
| SUBURB | ANNUAL UNIT SALE PRICE | CHANGE IN ANNUAL UNIT PRICE | ANNUAL MEDIAN SELLING DAYS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cottesloe | $1,200,000 | 50.9% | 25 |
| 2 | Bayswater | $350,000 | 44.0% | 8 |
| 3 | Girrawheen | $410,000 | 34.4% | 19 |
| 4 | Rockingham | $408,500 | 30.7% | 13 |
| 5 | Shoalwater | $312,500 | 30.2% | 12 |
| 6 | Mount Hawthorn | $627,500 | 28.6% | 6 |
| 7 | Glendalough | $330,000 | 26.9% | 13 |
| 8 | Armadale | $350,000 | 25.0% | 10 |
| 9 | Morley | $450,000 | 24.8% | 7 |
| 10 | Erskine | $480,000 | 24.7% | 12 |
“While the unit market was slower to respond to market conditions over most of 2023, in 2024 we have seen demand and price growth accelerate,” Ms Hart said.
“The overall demand for property, and particularly the strong motivation to exit the challenging rental market, has seen demand for units increase. Units are generally more affordable than houses, which helps people put a foot on the property ladder in a rising market. This is helping drive price growth in the unit market."
This financial year saw houses sell incredibly quickly, with a new monthly record of a median eight days on market set in October and November.
A renaissance taking place in the Perth CBD is expected to drive further demand for city and surrounds apartments.
