New research from Hotspotting has identified the 10 hottest property markets across Australia, with three states dominating the list of top performers.
Hotspotting Director Terry Ryder said the analysis focused on locations that combined low days on market, tight vacancy rates, solid yields and a track record of regular property price growth.
He noted that affordability was a common theme.
“With the exception of Crafers in the Adelaide Hills, all of the other suburbs have median prices below $1 million for houses, and well below that again for units,” Mr Ryder said.
At the top of the list are units in Douglas, Townsville, where the average days on market is just 13.
Douglas also recorded a median unit price of $350,000 and almost 17 per cent price growth over the past year.
Tied for first place, houses in Joondalup, Perth, also averaged 13 days on market, with median price growth of nearly 12 per cent in the past year and a median house price of $901,000.
Other leading suburbs included Hawthorndene in Mitcham, South Australia, with 14 days on market, and Doubleview in Stirling, Perth, at 16 days.
Mr Ryder said the findings reinforced his long-held view that affordable markets deliver the best long-term growth.
“It’s highly unlikely that many property pundits picked Acacia Ridge in Brisbane or Port Willunga in Adelaide to be market outperformers a few years ago, but here we are,” he said.
The research also highlighted strong five-year performance, with annual median price growth ranging from 7.18 per cent in Douglas to 15.88 per cent in Port Willunga.
PIPA Chair Lachlan Vidler said the study underscored just how tight rental conditions remain.
“Another telling element of this research is the fact that each one of the top locations has a vacancy rate of less than two per cent with some, such as Hawthorndene, Doubleview and Shaw, recording a vacancy rate of zero,” he said.
He added that a three per cent vacancy rate is considered balanced, but “these top 10 areas are nowhere near that level, which is why their rents also increased over the past year, including 17% in Acacia Ridge and 28% in Crafers”.
Mr Vidler noted that investors are increasingly taking a nationwide view when choosing where to purchase next.
“Working with qualified property investment professionals, who are appropriately licensed in the states and territories they operate in, as well as having plenty of experience and successful results for their clients, is imperative to prevent costly mistakes when purchasing in unfamiliar or interstate markets,” he said.
