The suburbs around Australia with the biggest price gains in the past five years

A handful of suburbs across Australia have recorded extraordinary double-digit price growth in the past five years, new figures reveal, showing why property continues to be king.

Despite the recent downturn, a range of suburbs in every state and territory saw remarkable price gains for both houses and units in the the five years ending in December 2019, Domain data shows.

When it came to houses, the Mornington Peninsula suburb of Sorrento saw the largest median house price increase across the country. 

Over five years, it jumped 77.1 per cent to $1,049,750.

It was closely followed by the western Sydney suburb of Pitt Town in New South Wales.

The median house price for the postcode 59 kilometres north-west of Sydney’s CBD grew 70.7 per cent to $1,049,750.

Top house price gains

Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said the five-year data showed homeowners recorded remarkable capital gains despite the downturn.

“Over the five years [the data has] captured both a boom and a bust in Sydney and Melbourne. That would have dented some of the growth,” Mr Wiltshire said. “They’re obviously seeing massive capital gains.”

“Sorrento is a really exclusive suburb, just north of Portsea. The fact that Portsea is pretty constrained means people who want to buy a luxury home are driven to Sorrento and that’s driven the growth,” Mr Wiltshire said.

Meanwhile, the subdivision of rural lots for the construction of new homes in Pitt Town was driving up house prices in the western Sydney suburb, Mr Wiltshire said.

In Tasmania, the Hobart suburb of Rokeby saw the largest median house price increase, rising 66.2 per cent to $330,000.

Mr Wiltshire said the state’s capital city as a whole was not too far behind.

“The overall Hobart market has taken off. Hobart’s median house price is up 60 per cent in five years.”

In South Australia, the suburb of Somerton Park saw the biggest median house price gain in the state.

The postcode, 12 kilometres south-west from the Adelaide CBD, rose 50.5 per cent to $957.250.

Top unit price gains 

In Queensland, the suburb of Beachmere was the top performing in the state.

The beach town is 38 kilometres north of Brisbane’s CBD but that did not stop it from rising 49.2 per cent to $485,000 over the past five years.

Acreage and Lifestyle Property selling agent Martin Purcell said the coastal rural town was well positioned.

“It’s the locality … you’ve got the beach, it’s close to the highway, you’re still close to the city and the airport,” Mr Purcell said. “It’s a little bit of paradise … everything people want it’s here. The only thing you don’t have is the crowds.”

He also said that buyers were still getting bang for their buck. “With close proximity to the water, you buy a place with four bedrooms, two baths, one street back from the beaches and it’s early $600,000.”

Even in Western Australia, the western Perth suburb of Claremont managed to come out on top despite the state’s significant price decline courtesy of the mining downturn.

The suburb’s median house price rose 12.7 per cent to $1.11 million.

Shellabears selling agent Kate Gale said Claremont weathered property cycles because of its prime location.

“Claremont rides the bump very well because it’s between the city and the ocean and premier beaches like Cottesloe,” Ms Gale said. “Whenever there is a softening, Claremont never falls away too much but when there’s growth it responds quite readily.”

Original Article: https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-suburbs-that-have-seen-the-biggest-gains-in-the-past-five-years-around-australia-937611/