The Aussie suburbs where property values have grown the most

There aren't many spots around Australia where you could expect property prices haven't had a healthy bump over the past five years. 

You also might not expect, though, that it would be possible to have bought in an area that's soared in value by more than +250 per cent since 2016. 

That's the growth figure in the outer western Melbourne suburb of Aintree, where the median house value has risen from $190,650 to a staggering $675,000 in just five years. 

Aintree isn't alone either. Unit prices in Mowbray, a small suburb on the outskirts of Launceston, Tasmania, have rocketed up a full +287 per cent, with 2016's modest median value of $80,075 ballooning out to $310,000 this year. 

Across the country, there are more than 30 suburbs that have posted median price increases of +100 per cent or more in the five years to now, with dozens more showing returns north of +40 per cent. 

Here are the top movers from each state. 

Sydney and NSW

The ten best performing suburbs in NSW all breached the +100 per cent mark, and the number one spot might come as a surprise. 

Houses in Paterson, a town in the Lower Hunter region that had just under 900 residents as of the 2016 census, have clocked a +144 per cent boom in the years since, jumping from a median value of $372,000 to $907,500.

It’s closely followed on the list by coastal getaways like Killcare, Boomerang Beach and Palmers Island, with Killcare dialling up from a $785,000 median to an eye-watering $1,885,000.

Byron Bay ranks as the most expensive locale of the bunch, with house prices rising from an already-hefty $1,050,000 mid-point in 2016 way up to $2,220,000 now—an increase of +111 per cent. 

Melbourne and VIC

Much like its eastern neighbour, Victoria's top ten suburbs in terms of growth have all surpassed +100 per cent gains in the last five years. 

The aforementioned Aintree sits at the top of the pile with its monumental +254 per cent upswing, but there are also two other Melbourne postcodes breaking through the double century. 

Cobblebank, a suburb on the western outskirts of Melbourne which has undergone major development since 2011, has watched house prices shoot up from a median of $153,000 to more than half a million dollars.

Down in the seaside splendour of the Mornington Peninsula Shire, Safety Beach units have been pumped up by nearly +240 per cent to a current median value of $707,550. 

The Peninsula is also home to the priciest pick of the lot, Flinders, where 2016 norms below $900,000 have been shattered and the median house now goes for more than $2 million.

Brisbane and QLD

Queensland continues to have very strong appeal from a lifestyle perspective, and it's no coincidence that, in the state of sunshine and beaches, the biggest boom has happened at Sunshine Beach. 

Houses in the Noosa suburb have been the hottest property in the state since 2016, lifting +110 per cent to a tick over the $2 million mark, and units have been tracking close behind with an +80 per cent increase putting them within touching distance of a million-dollar median. 

It's proved to be an exceptionally popular region, with other big movers in the vicinity including Peregian Springs (+79 per cent), Noosa Heads (+76 per cent) and Marcus Beach (+73 per cent).

The only Queensland markets featuring on the list that aren't by the water are Mothar Mountain, a tiny scenic locality that borders Woondom National Park, and Willowbank, another rural town outside of Ipswitch. 

Hobart and TAS

The cosy Launceston suburb of Mowbray topped the national growth charts with its astronomical +287 per cent rise, but it's not the only Tasmanian area to have made big leaps. 

Houses in a number of Hobart's outer suburbs have substantially increased in value since 2016 like Rokeby (+110 per cent), Herdmans Cove (+111 per cent) and Gagebrook (+103 per cent).

Campania, one of the state's key wine regions, has also posted a very significant uplift in median house prices from $247,500 to $482,000, nearly a +95 per cent jump.

And units in Claremont, just north of MONA in Hobart's north, seem to have felt the positive effects of the much-talked-about museum by rising +92 per cent to $352,500.

Adelaide and SA

South Australia has bucked the trend somewhat, with units outperforming houses in the top ten list. 

A number of Adelaide's inner suburbs hit big strides over the past five years, with units in Highgate and Everard Park more than doubling in price.

The highest mover for houses was waterfront suburb Tennyson in Adelaide's north-west, moving from a $900,000 median price in 2016 to $1,575,000 in 2021. 

Unlike other states, only two towns outside the capital—Springton and Oakbank in the Adelaide Hills—made it in as one of the ten biggest climbs. 

Canberra and ACT

Moncrieff, a newly developed suburb in the state's northmost point, has by far showed the most substantial growth for the ACT, clocking a +208 per cent change in median house prices.

Other recent developments like Wright (+70 per cent) and Coombs (+52 per cent) brought in large returns over the five year period. 

A number of sought after established suburbs have boomed too including leafy CBD neighbourhood Ainslie, which shot up +44 per cent to a median house price of $1,227,500, and Stirling in Western Creek, which breached $800,000 with a +43 per cent increase. 

Sitting adjacent to Capital Hill, units in Barton have also had a major boost since 2016, totalling a +52 per cent rise.