151 suburbs join the million-dollar property club this year
Buyers seeking a freestanding home on a large block are being pushed well beyond the borders of the major capital cities, though there are still plenty of opportunities if you know where to look.
Once a status symbol afforded to only the most affluent postcodes, nowadays the $1 million club simply reflects an average Aussie neighbourhood.
In fact, there are more than 2100 suburbs and towns with a median house price of $1m or more, with the two largest capital cities of Sydney and Melbourne no longer accounting for the biggest share of new entries.
According to PropTrack, the national median house price hit exactly $1 million in June, up 5.6% compared to a year ago.
Where to find Australia's newest million-dollar suburbs:
| State/territory | Number of new $1m suburbs |
| Queensland | 46 |
| Western Australia | 37 |
| South Australia | 34 |
| New South Wales | 31 |
| Victoria | 1 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 1 |
| Northern Territory | 1 |
| Tasmania | 0 |
A property boom in many of the smaller and mid-sized capital cities has driven the median house price above a million dollars in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Even Australia’s most affordable capital city, Darwin, has seen a handful of suburbs reach the $1m threshold in recent years, with one new entry this year - Stuart Park – which reached the milestone in May.
That’s on par with Melbourne, which continues to lag behind the other capital cities for price growth. Just one suburb in the entire state of Victoria has crossed over the seven-figure threshold so far this year.
The data shows almost a third (46) of the 151 suburbs to enter the $1m club between January and June were located in Queensland, followed by WA with 37 new entries and South Australia at 34.
REA Group executive manager of economics Angus Moore said it’s reflective of the rapid price growth experienced in these markets in recent years.
“A large number of south-east Queensland, Adelaide and Perth suburbs have crossed over the $1 million and even $2 million mark,” Mr Moore said.
“And that really underscores the extraordinary growth we've seen in those areas in the past six years or so, with prices more than doubling since the turn of the decade in those areas.”
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Suburbs with a million dollar median house price are becoming the norm in many parts of the country. Picture: Getty
Thirty-one NSW suburbs entered the million-dollar club, with around half located in the regions and half in Sydney’s outer fringe.
With prices now cooling in most parts of the country, Mr Moore said there would be fewer new entries for the rest of the year.
"But we'd expect to see prices hit a turning point late this year or early next as the cash rate stabilises and market sentiment improves. And home prices are likely to grow next year."
The changing face of Australia’s capital cities
With median house prices either above or close to $1 million in six out of Australia’s eight capital cities, buyers seeking a freestanding home are often having to look further out.
Brisbane is now the second most expensive capital city, behind Sydney, with a median house price of $1.224 million.
Buyers with a million dollar budget now need to look around 20-30km or more from the CBD for a freestanding home, to suburbs like Alexandra Hills in Brisbane’s east; Springfield or Karana Downs in Ipswich; down to Logan and Beaudesert; or the northern suburbs of Brisbane including Moreton Bay.
Five years ago, freestanding homes could still be found within 5-10km of the CBD, in suburbs like Camp Hill – which now has a median house price of more than $2 million.
Similarly, rapid price growth in Perth has pushed buyers to outer fringe suburbs like Edgewater ($1.09m) and Currambine ($1.06m) in the north west, or Wattle Grove ($1.01m) and Treeby ($1m) in the south.
Adelaide’s median house price has risen 11% in the past 12 months to $1.02m, with 33 of the state’s 34 new million dollar suburbs located in the capital city.
Buyers in Brisbane have to travel much further out from the CBD to find freestanding homes for around a million dollars, like Jimboomba in the Logan - Beaudesert region. Picture: realestate.com.au
Local agent Thanasi Mantopoulos from LJ Hooker said entry-level freestanding homes could still be found around the city’s inner west, within 5km of the CBD.
“If you want an established home where you can make improvements on 500-plus square metres, entry level is around the $1m to $1.1m mark,” Mr Mantopoulos said.
“There's a lot of value for families, people who are starting families, even downsizers. You're close to the beach, close to the city, less than five kilometres each way.”
This includes suburbs like Beverley ($1.05m median), Croydon Park ($1.06m) and Richmond (1.05m), he said, where buyer demand remains strong with owner occupiers post-budget.
“We are actually still seeing good registrations in the inner west at auctions - in general, it's changed, but in the inner west pockets, we're still getting multiple registrations,” he said.
“Since the first of May I’ve had a clearance rate of around 91% of my auctions. I think I sold 22 or 23 out of 25.”
Richmond is one of 34 suburbs in South Australia to reach the $1 million dollar median house price threshold. This home at 29 Bickford St recently sold for $1.225m. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
He pointed to the recent sale of 29 Bickford Street in Richmond which sold last month for $1.225m – an increase of $213,000 compared to just 14 months earlier.
“All they did was paint it,” he said. “The affordability and the livability in those areas, buyers will always chase that.”
Brooklyn Park, a suburb included in this year’s realestate.com.au Hot 100, also tipped over the million dollar threshold.
Cooler conditions across Melbourne has seen just one suburb – Montrose, in Melbourne’s outer east – reach the million-dollar milestone this year.
While buyer demand has eased in many parts of the city on the back of multiple rate hikes and federal budget changes, local agent Ryan Bell from Bell Real Estate said the leafy suburb remains insulated due to its high proportion of owner occupiers.
“Montrose has always been a little bit of a protected gem,” Mr Bell said.
“I'd say between 90% and 95% is owner occupied, and it's a pretty tightly held area, so it doesn't have a high turnover of property.
“When properties do come to the market, and especially family homes, they're always very, very attractive, and they encourage good numbers.
“Last weekend, for instance, we had we had a number of open for inspections through Montrose, and we were getting between eight to 20 groups through per open for inspection.”
Homes like 22 The Avenue, Montrose continue to attract strong buyer interest. Agent Ryan Bell said 16 groups attended the first open home over the weekend. Picture: realestate.com.au
Under the changes, which are now legislated, property investors can no longer negatively gear an established property, while capital gains will be taxed in line with inflation, rather than receiving a blanket 50% discount on properties held for more than 12 months. In addition, a minimum 30% tax rate will apply for capital gains from July next year.
New builds that add to housing supply are exempt from the changes.
Amaroo was the only suburb in the ACT to enter the million dollar club between January and June, while Tasmania had no new entries.
Surge in regional $1m suburbs
With a median house price of almost $1.6m, the majority of Sydney’s new million dollar suburbs were concentrated in the far outer fringes, Blue Mountains and Central Coast region – which is technically included in the greater capital city statistical catchment.
Coastal regions within a couple of hours from the CBD, such as Newcastle and the Illawarra, also accounted for a large number of new entrants.
The Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle region north of Sydney accounted for a large share of NSW's new million dollar suburbs. Picture: Getty
Matt Sharp from Sharp Property Buyers, and regional representative of the The Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA), said affordability was a major driver.
“Affordability has always been a driver of the Central Coast,” Mr Sharp said.
“You have that constant influx of people looking to relocate from Sydney, and post-Covid, that just accelerated with the ability to be able to work from home.”
He said cooler conditions were providing a rare opportunity for buyers to negotiate harder, though limited new stock was keeping a lid on the region in general.
“Based on information we're getting from selling agents, people are considering selling, and then they're seeing headlines, and they're thinking now's not a good time to sell, and therefore they're holding off putting their property on the market. So you're still not seeing high levels of stock available right now,” he said.
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“We just helped a first-home buyer in Killarney Vale with a $900,000 purchase. There would have been 12 to 15 groups at the first open home; by the Sunday there were three offers on the table, and it sold within a week.
“Locations and the properties that tick the majority of boxes are still doing well.”
Queensland saw 17 regional suburbs tick above $1m, and five in regional WA. Port Elliot was the only regional location to hit the million dollar milestone in South Australia.