A particular region is seeing a dramatic surge in activity
Australia’s property upswing is no longer just a story about Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. The most striking momentum in 2025 is coming from further north: the Northern Territory is rapidly positioning itself as the country’s next real estate hotspot.
New PropTrack data shows a dramatic spike in sales activity across the NT, particularly in Darwin and its surrounding suburbs. In some areas, the number of homes changing hands in the year to October 2025 is close to three times higher than in the previous 12 months, signalling a decisive shift in buyer and investor focus.
At the heart of this surge is a powerful mix of record investor lending, resurgent price growth after years of stagnation, and a growing hunt for higher yields and value outside the traditional east-coast markets.
Why the Northern Territory is suddenly in the spotlight
After a long stretch where it lagged behind the nation’s leading capitals, the NT is now drawing intense interest from investors across the country. Darwin in particular has become a magnet for buyers seeking stronger rental returns and better affordability than they can find in Sydney or Melbourne.
Investor lending in the Territory has climbed to record highs this year, with the number of new investor loans now about double its previous peak. That renewed confidence is feeding directly into prices: Darwin’s median house value has risen by roughly 14% over the past year, putting it on par with the growth rates recently seen in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.
Economists point to 2025 as the year the Darwin market fundamentally turned a corner, with investors accounting for a very large share of new lending and sales volumes rising across a broad range of suburbs.
The rise of Darwin’s affordable suburbs
The clearest evidence of the NT’s emergence comes from Darwin’s more affordable outer suburbs.
In Moulden, Driver and Gray, nearly three times as many houses sold over the past year compared with the prior 12 months. For years, these were among the cheapest investment locations in Darwin, with limited capital growth and owners often feeling locked in.
That narrative has shifted quickly. A surge in investor demand has pushed annual price growth in these suburbs into the high teens, with estimates of around 16% to 19%. Many long-term owners have taken the opportunity to sell into a rising market and upgrade to more expensive parts of the city, adding further fuel to transaction numbers.
Importantly, the uplift isn’t confined to a small pocket. Suburbs such as Rosebery, Durack, Woodroffe, Karama, Bellamack, Muirhead, Wulagi, Malak and Berrimah have all recorded hefty increases in sales, underscoring how broad-based the NT resurgence has become.
Units underline the NT growth story
The unit market is telling the same story: the Northern Territory isn’t just recovering – it’s leading.
Darwin City tops the national list for the largest increase in unit transactions, with sales volumes around triple what they were a year earlier. Nearby suburbs including Rosebery, Rapid Creek, Nightcliff, Johnston, Bakewell, Coconut Grove, Parap and Stuart Park have also seen unit sales jump sharply.
This combination of rising activity in both houses and units sets the NT apart. Investors can tap into a variety of price points and property types, from lower-priced family homes in outer suburbs to higher-yielding apartments closer to the CBD and coastline. With rental demand remaining solid, many buyers are targeting the Territory for its income potential as much as its growth prospects.
How the NT compares with other active markets
The NT’s performance comes against a backdrop of rising activity in several other parts of the country – but the Territory’s turnaround stands out.
In South Australia, suburbs such as Fulham Gardens, Prospect, Plympton and West Lakes have recorded strong increases in house sales, though price growth there remains broadly aligned with Adelaide overall rather than dramatically outpacing it.
Regional Victoria has seen similar surges in places like Loch Sport in Gippsland and East Bendigo, both of which have benefited from lifestyle appeal and relative affordability. Norlane in Geelong is another standout, with house sales more than doubling year-on-year as investors from Sydney and Brisbane, along with first-home buyers from Melbourne and Geelong, seek lower entry prices.
In Melbourne, Campbellfield has led the way for houses, with large jumps in sales also recorded in Oakleigh East, Olinda and Heidelberg. In Sydney’s west, more affordable areas such as Hebersham, Dean Park and Acacia Gardens have seen transaction volumes rise by roughly half compared with a year earlier.
Canberra’s unit market has also been strong, particularly in suburbs such as Belconnen, Campbell, Wright, Denman Prospect, Coombs, Kingston, Greenway and the City. Much of that activity reflects a pipeline of new apartment projects, with recently completed stock accounting for many of the sales and attracting first-home buyers, investors and downsizers.
Yet even against this busy national backdrop, the scale and speed of the Northern Territory’s turnaround – especially in Darwin – is what marks it as the emerging hotspot to watch.
A shifting national backdrop
Australia’s largest cities are also showing renewed momentum. Activity in Sydney and Melbourne has picked up through 2025, supported by firmer conditions and a return to steady, sustained home price growth. For Melbourne, it’s the first extended period of consistent gains since the Reserve Bank began lifting interest rates in early 2022.
Listing patterns are further shaping the market’s next phase. Recent REA Group data shows a sharp rise in new listings in Sydney and Melbourne in October, while new supply has actually declined in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. That tighter flow of stock in the smaller capitals has helped keep competition strong and prices elevated.
By contrast, the NT’s appeal is being driven more by affordability, yield and the prospect of outsized capital growth from a lower base – factors that are increasingly hard to find in the most sought-after east-coast suburbs.
Why the NT is the next hotspot – and what it means for buyers
Taken together, the data point clearly to the Northern Territory as Australia’s next property hotspot.
Record investor lending, double-peak borrowing activity, strong double-digit price growth and a surge in both house and unit sales across Darwin and surrounding suburbs all signal a market in the midst of a genuine upswing, not just a short-lived bounce.
For investors, the NT now offers a rare combination: relatively low entry prices compared with the major capitals, appealing rental yields and the potential for further growth as more buyers turn their attention north.
For local owners who have waited through years of flat conditions, the shift is equally significant. Rising values and thicker buyer demand are finally providing the opportunity to sell, upgrade or diversify – and to benefit more fully from the next phase of Australia’s property cycle.
In a national market where many traditional hotspots are already running hard, the Northern Territory stands out as the fresh frontier – and one that is quickly earning its place on the radar of serious property investors.
