There were 53 separate regional cities across the country which produced a capital growth rate that was equal to or better than Australia’s best-performed capital city over the last decade.
The combined capital city median house value increased by 74 percent – from $620,000 to $1.08 million.
Australia’s Numero Uno for capital growth was the luxury holiday hotspot of Noosa, with a whopping 156 percent increase in its median house value.
With 96 percent increase in its median house value, beautiful Hobart was the best of the capital cities.
Houses in Adelaide and Sydney (both 93 percent) and Brisbane (86 percent) were very strong performers.
But the gap between house and attached dwelling capital growth rates continues to widen, especially in cities with the highest density.
For example, in the Sydney municipality of Inner-West (high profile suburbs such as Balmain, Marrickville and Leichhardt) the median house value increased by 89 percent while apartments were well below par at 37 percent.
Australia’s worst performed capital city was Darwin, where house values produced no growth over the 10-year period and the median apartment value declined by 21 percent.
Related article: Darwin’s property market outlook
Despite Perth’s 20.5 percent population growth over the decade being superior to Hobart’s (15.2 percent) and every capital city other than Brisbane (22.1 percent), Australia’s 4th largest city was one of the worst performed property market.
Remembering that Western Australia was in the middle of a prolonged economic trough at the start of the decade in question, the 38 percent increase in Perth’s median house value across the period is after 73 percent growth over the last 5-years.
Busselton (77 percent) and Augusta-Margaret River (66 percent) were WA’s best-performed property markets during the last decade.
Horrible economic management is primarily responsible for a pathetic 3 percent increase in Melbourne’s median house value over the last 7-years ending December 2024.
But a very strong start to the decade meant it was up 59 percent over the 10-year period.
Trendy Melbourne inner-city suburbs like Richmond (+11 percent), Brunswick (+15 percent) and South Yarra (-4 percent) produced terrible real estate performances for apartment owners.
Among Victoria’s best performed property markets were Surf Coast (110 percent), Wangaratta (105 percent), Mildura (96 percent), Wodonga and Shepparton (both 90 percent) and Bendigo (71 percent).
Australia’s eastern paradise
Either side of the Queensland and New South Wales border, there is a 750-kilometre stretch which boasts the most hotly contested real estate in Australia.
From Bundaberg (95 percent capital growth) to Coffs Harbour (105 percent) and everywhere in between, a significant portion of people who chose to relocate away from high density capital cities over the last decade selected this part of Australia as their home of choice.
The abundance of people who voted with their feet is a compliment worthy of giving it the title ‘Australia’s Eastern Paradise’.
Hervey Bay and its inland neighbour, Maryborough, experienced a 102 percent increase in real estate values over the 10-years ending 2024.
In a little over 7-years time, the wonderfully historic township of Maryborough will play an active role in hosting events for the 2032 Olympic Games.
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Located in the hinterland just 1-hour from Brisbane is the aptly named Scenic Rim (townships Beaudesert and Boonah). The 99 percent increase in its median house value was superior growth than 8 out of 8 capital cities.
It probably comes as no great to surprise to anyone that the two fastest growing regions in the country, Sunshine Coast (114 percent) and Gold Coast (118 percent) were also hot property over the 10-years ending 2024.
And property markets throughout the entire NSW Northern Rivers region were gold star performers over the last decade.
An extraordinary 140 percent capital growth occurred in the regional municipalities of Tweed (which incorporates the idyllic township of Kingscliff) and Byron, along with Kiama in the Illawarra.
Each with a population of 20,000 or more people, the property markets of fifty-three (53) major regional municipalities outperformed 8 out of 8 capital cities.
The result is yet another resounding endorsement for lifestyles, real estate and the general popularity of regional Australia.
Other townships in the upper echelon include the Snowy Mountain townships of Cooma and Jindabyne (138 percent increase in median house value), Cessnock in the Hunter Valley (128 percent), beautiful Bowral (128 percent) and Griffith in the Riverina (121 percent).
Demonstrating the diversity of Australia’s regional beauty, real estate in the seriously stunning northern Tasmanian city of Launceston (112 percent), Orange (102 percent) in the NSW Central West region, 99 percent in Victoria’s Bass Coast, 96 percent capital growth in South Australia’s Barossa region and the understated Dubbo (80 percent).
Real estate in the Tasmanian port city of Burnie (101 percent) and the attractive South Australian regional townships of Murray Bridge (89 percent) and Mount Barker (84 percent) produced strong growth.
To put the performance into further perspective, Sydney’s median apartment value over the same 10-year period increased by a modest 29 percent while Sydney’s population increased by 715,000 people.
Despite a 5.8 percent decline in its population over the last decade, the median house value in Broken Hill increased by 82 percent.
Property Investment Case Studies
SCENARIO #1
In 2014, for the same price of Melbourne’s median house ($540,000), someone could have invested in a house in both Mildura and Bendigo.
Over the following 10-years, the Melbourne house produced 59 percent capital growth (or $320,000) while the alternative property portfolio increased by a combined 76 percent, thereby adding $440,000 towards future financial independence.
SCENARIO #2
Diversifying one’s capital into two different locations is a sensible risk mitigation strategy.
Instead of paying $615,000 for a standard Sydney apartment in 2014, one could have invested the same amount of money to buy a standard house in both Dubbo and Armidale.
The median value Sydney apartment produced 29 percent capital growth (or $180,000) compared to the Armidale-Dubbo portfolio adding $445,000 to the household balance sheet (or 72 percent capital growth).
SCENARIO #3
Situated along the Murray River and halfway between Australia’s two largest cities is the wonderful twin-towns city of Albury-Wodonga.
One of my own favourite cities, Albury-Wodonga plays a critically important role for the production, packaging, warehousing and logistical distribution of food for the entire east coast of Australia.
The city’s robust local economy also includes a major tax office, a military presence, and a strong culture of sport, water activities and wineries.
While Sydney (minus 276,952) and Melbourne (minus 66,682) both experienced population declines over the last 10-years to internal migration, Albury-Wodonga’s incredible lifestyle, strong economy and affordable housing attracted new residents to Australia’s 25th largest city.
Albury-Wodonga’s capital growth rate across the decade ending 2024 along with its rental yields are superior to both Melbourne and Sydney.
This great city is among the dozens that Propertyology has helped everyday Aussies invest in over the years.
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