According to new research from PropTrack, residents in ten localities across Australia are holding onto their properties for over 20 years, with all these suburbs boasting median property values exceeding $1 million.
Kirribilli in Sydney tops the list with an average hold period of 23.89 years, followed by Bundeena at 22.80 years and Attwood in Melbourne at 22.7 years.
The research identified an additional 493 suburbs nationwide where the average hold period ranges between 15 and 20 years, including areas such as Fraser and Stirling in the ACT, Yeerongpilly and Sunnybank Hills in Queensland, and Torrens Park and North Haven in South Australia.
In Queensland, Kenmore Hills has emerged as the state’s most tightly held market with an average hold time of 21 years for houses, making it exceptionally difficult for new buyers to enter the area.
Many of these suburbs with extended hold periods are experiencing ownership tenures more than twice as long as the typical ownership period for houses citywide, which currently stands at 13 years in Sydney.
In South Australia, North Haven units have the longest hold period at 18.23 years, narrowly edging out Torrens Park houses at 18.17 years.
Collinswood houses follow closely with owners staying put for 17.87 years.
For units across Australia, the data shows Ferny Grove in Brisbane, Frenchville in Rockhampton, and Moffat Beach in Caloundra all have average hold periods of 15 years, making them among the most tightly-held unit markets in Queensland.
The phenomenon is particularly strong in inner-city and Harbourside enclaves where Baby Boomers established themselves during the 1980s and 1990s and have remained ever since, creating what are effectively locked markets.
These long-term homeowners are anchored by family ties, lifestyle appeal, and deep emotional connections to their communities, making them reluctant to move despite changing market conditions.
In Victoria, Melbourne’s “forever suburbs” stretch from leafy eastern areas to Mornington Peninsula lifestyle towns and hidden gems in the north and west, with locations like Attwood near Melbourne Airport outranking traditionally blue-chip areas.
