Quarterly report highlights sharp drops in some regions, while affordable areas buck the trend
Nearly 200 suburbs have seen home values fall in the past quarter, analysis of figures from property data provider PropTrack has revealed.
The firm’s June Quarterly Home Values Index shows that 192 of 3,762 house suburbs and 168 of 1,888 unit markets recorded declines over the last three months.
Lalor Park in Sydney’s Blacktown region had the largest drop among unit markets, with values down 17%, or $104,066, bringing the median unit price to $514,808. Fairfield East (Sydney-Parramatta) followed with a 9% decline to $596,272, while Lisarow on the NSW Central Coast fell 8%.
Other suburbs among the 10 worst-performing unit markets included Pelican Waters (Queensland), Melrose Park (South Australia), Broadwater (Western Australia), Wyoming (NSW), Huntingdale (Victoria), Tregear (NSW), and Ocean Grove (Victoria), each recording falls between 5% and 6% over the quarter.
Banksmeadow in NSW posted the largest annual decline for units, with values down 28%. Lalor Park, Terrigal (NSW), Claremont (WA), Cottesloe (WA), Fairfield East (NSW), Telopea (NSW), South Granville (NSW), Yennora (NSW), Jordan Springs (NSW), Crace (ACT), Jindabyne (NSW), Red Hill (ACT), Huntingdale (Vic), and Rippinlea (Vic) also experienced annual declines of more than 10%.
While NSW suburbs dominated the list of unit value declines, some areas posted strong gains. Units in Ashcroft, Wahroonga, Belrose, Cartwright, and Sadlier all rose by at least 10% in three months, as buyers sought more affordable options below Sydney’s median price of $1.18 million.
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty (pictured right) described the double-digit increases as “enormous” for such a short period. “That is absolutely out of the ordinary,” she said. “Particularly, we are seeing that those suburbs that are relatively more affordable are attracting a high level of competition.
“The reality is because the median price of a home in greater Sydney is so high, for a lot of people that are looking for a middle ring suburban Sydney home, it’s just not even a possibility.”
Among house markets, Point Lookout in Queensland recorded the largest quarterly drop, with values down 6%, or $108,173, to $1,768,325. Quindalup (WA) and Lorne (Vic) followed, each with a 5% decline, representing value reductions of $93,124 and $97,061, respectively.
Seven suburbs saw house values fall by 4% in the quarter, including Hyde Park (SA), Jamberoo (NSW), Apollo Bay (Vic), Berrimah (NT), Nar Nar Goon North (Vic), Byron Bay (NSW), and Cardigan (Vic).
Over the year, Nar Nar Goon North (Vic), Blairgowrie (Vic), Jilliby (NSW), and Rye (Vic) experienced the largest annual house value declines at 10%. Byron Bay (NSW) and Bangholme (Vic) followed with 9% drops, while Lorne (Vic) and Shoalhaven Heads (NSW) each fell by 8%. Eleven suburbs, including seven in Victoria, recorded annual declines of 7%.
Despite these declines, 1,418 house suburbs in Australia now have a median value above $1 million, with 107 joining this category in the past three months. Bellevue Hill in Sydney leads with a median house price of $9,844,492, followed by Vaucluse at $8,983,846. Toorak is Victoria’s most expensive suburb at $4,500,128, while Cottesloe is Western Australia’s priciest at $3,442,198. Chandler is Queensland’s most expensive suburb at $3,149,155, and St Peters leads in South Australia at $2,226,612.
Brisbane’s median home price surpassed $1 million for the first time, reaching $1.02 million in June, an increase of $74,800, making it the nation’s second most expensive capital city after Sydney.
Flaherty said more Queensland suburbs are likely to surpass the $1 million mark, with 54 currently holding median house values above $950,000.
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