New South Wales is home to almost all of the top-selling suburbs for houses in 2021, according to newly released data.
The data, released by PropTrack, identified the top 10 Australian locations where median prices have made the biggest percentage gains this year.
Nine of those were in New South Wales, with Diamond Beach topping the list with 84 per cent growth, year-on-year.
The regional town – one of many to see an influx of city dwellers looking for sea and tree changes during the pandemic – now has a median house price of $707,000.
PropTrack economist Angus Moore said beachside suburbs, particularly around NSW’s central coast, dominated the fastest-growing suburbs for houses this year.
“That’s not surprising. With many people now working from home, we’ve seen a big shift over the past two years towards people preferring space and lifestyle factors over a convenient commute,” Mr Moore said.
“Living by the beach on the central coast and commuting to Sydney becomes a lot more attractive if you only have to do it once or twice a week instead of five days a week.”
Somers in Victoria came in second, its median price of $1.746 million representing an 83 per cent increase over the year.
The Mornington Peninsula suburb is the only one outside of New South Wales, and according to Richard Whitehead from Roberts & Green, has seen houses selling within a week or two after listing.
“It’s incredible and I’m not sure that it will be stopping any time soon,” Mr Whitehead told realestate.com.au
“Most houses are selling within the set price range or above due to strong buyer demand.”
Mr Whitehead said Melbourne residents continued to forgo the convenience of the city, for a slower lifestyle with nice surroundings.
Coming in fifth was Sydney’s Sylvania Waters, in the Sutherland Shire. Its median house prices skyrocketed 74 per cent to $2.9 million.
Principal of DJW Property Dave Watkins told realestate.com.au the picturesque pocket offered a range of benefits that had driven demand.
“With plans for the F6 extension looming, we will become the only private waterway suburb approximately 15 minutes from the CBD,” Mr Watkins said.
“There has been very high demand for deep waterfront homes. People want a place to park the boat with no ongoing mooring fees. Stock levels for waterfront homes are becoming very tight.
“It’s one of the reasons I purchased a waterfront property in Sylvania Waters myself about three years ago. I could see this coming.”
It’s also easy access to the CBD, and close to public transport.
10 top-selling suburbs for houses
| Suburb | Median house price | Annual change |
| Diamond Beach, NSW | $707,000 | 84% |
| Somers, Vic | $1,746,000 | 83% |
| Killcare Heights, NSW | $2,162,500 | 80% |
| Teralba, NSW | $695,000 | 76% |
| Sylvania Waters, NSW | $2,900,000 | 74% |
| Milton, NSW | $1,218,750 | 73% |
| Manyana, NSW | $907,000 | 70% |
| Wyee, NSW | $755,000 | 69% |
| Jerilderie, NSW | $185,000 | 68% |
| Copacabana, NSW | $1,740,000 | 68% |
When it came to units, the Canberra suburb of Mawson topped the list with an 80 per cent jump in median price year-on-year, landing at $535,000.
Mr Moore said the suburbs with the fastest-growing units was more of a mixed bag, compared with houses.
“That shift towards lifestyle factors is still there with sea-change and tree-change suburbs like Victor Harbour, Byron Bay, Jindabyne, Cable Beach and Avalon, which have all seen strong growth in unit prices over the past year,” he said.
“But some inner-city suburbs like Carlton and South Hobart also saw strong growth over 2021 – and this could reflect a bit of catch up after underperforming in 2020.”
Western Australia’s Cable Beach jumped 59 per cent to $287,500, likely due to a mix of upgrading locals and holiday home-hunters, according to Giles Tipping from Ray White Broome.
A major shortage of rental properties was another likely cause, said Mr Tipping, with many buyers being forced to consider buying, if they wished to remain in Broome.
“Local businesses and government agencies are also looking now at purchasing, rather than renting, in order to guarantee accommodation for key workers,” Mr Tipping told realestate.com.au
Strong population growth had seen housing demand explode, so Broome’s current fortunes were far from entirely COVID-induced, he said.
“It’s widely accepted here that the bottom of the market came in early to mid-2019 and by early 2020, many sales indicated an uplift in the market by around 5 per cent to 7 per cent,” Mr Tipping said.
“So, we knew that Broome was due an uplift, it’s just that we could never have predicted things to rise as quickly as they have.”
10 top-selling suburbs for units
| Suburb | Median unit price | Annual change |
| Mawson, ACT | $535,000 | 80% |
| South Hobart, Tas | $568,888 | 60% |
| Cable Beach, WA | $287,500 | 59% |
| Victor Harbor, SA | $380,000 | 58% |
| Attadale, WA | $611,000 | 57% |
| Byron Bay, NSW | $1,050,000 | 57% |
| South Hedland, WA | $218,000 | 56% |
| Carlton, Vic | $510,000 | 55% |
| Avalon Beach, NSW | $1,300,000 | 53% |
| Jindabyne, NSW | $600,000 | 50% |
