Property searches have surged in several key capital city suburbs, revealing the locations that buyers are increasingly targeting where rising demand could cause prices to take off.
While high property prices have pushed buyers towards affordable areas, strong population growth has also influenced the suburbs where searches rose the most, with increased interest in well-connected pockets offering good value.
Data from realestate.com.au shows the number of property searches in some sought-after suburbs has risen more than 40% over the past year.
PropTrack Australian economist Anne Flaherty said suburbs where searches had risen were experiencing increased demand from homebuyers, which could cause prices to rise.
where people are searching to buy provides a lead indicator on the suburbs poised for growth,” she said.
“A rise in searches in a suburb indicates a rise in demand, and more competition for those properties that hit the market.”
The suburbs with the biggest increases in searches were mostly in Perth, with the number of searches rising by more than 40% over the past 12 months in some suburbs.
This was double the rate of search growth in the top Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane suburbs.
Balcatta in Perth’s north was the suburb where property searches increased the most in the past year, rising 42%. This four-bedroom Balcatta home is on the market now. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
Many of the areas where searches jumped had experienced stronger rates of population growth recently, Ms Flaherty said.
“Western Australia experienced the strongest population growth in Australia over the 2023 financial year,” she said.
“This has likely contributed to 18 of the top 20 suburbs nationally for search growth being found in the state.”
But while searches surged in many suburbs of Perth and the east coast capitals, fewer suburbs in Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra had big increases in searches.
These suburbs have good connectivity to transport lines, the CBD and the coast, and with prices that are still within reach for many buyers, offer good value for money in what is the most expensive region of the city.
“These areas are great for rental properties, but there’s nothing to rent so prices are going up,” he said.
“That in turn pushes house prices up because tenants are then looking to buy.”
“Rents going up also makes these areas attractive for investors.”
Challenged affordability pushes Sydney buyers west
The suburbs with the biggest jumps in searches in Sydney were mostly affordable hubs in the city’s west, with high interest rates and record high property prices causing increased interest in well-connected areas where homes are cheaper.
Fairfield had the biggest jump in searches, rising 18% year on year, followed by Campbelltown (17%), Blacktown (16%), Merrylands (16%) and Lidcombe (15%).
Sydney suburbs where property searches increased the most
Source: PropTrack. Suburbs ranked by % increase in property searches February 2023 to February 2024. Median values only included for suburbs with a minimum of 200 properties with medium / high confidence AVM values.
Suburb State YoY increase in searches Median house value Median unit value
Fairfield NSW 18% $950,000 $440,000
Campbelltown NSW 17% $809,000 $510,000
Blacktown NSW 16.1% $943,000 $574,000
Merrylands NSW 16.1% $1,113,000 $481,000
Lidcombe NSW 15.1% $1,478,000 $736,000
Five Dock NSW 13.8% $2,392,000 $1,043,000
Box Hill NSW 13.4% $1,169,000 NA
Penrith NSW 13.2% $854,000 $570,000
Seven Hills NSW 12.9% $1,031,000 $709,000
Liverpool NSW 12.5% $954,000 $483,000
Of the top 10 suburbs with the biggest increase in searches, half had a median house price below $1 million and only one, Five Dock, had a house price above $2 million.
Units in Fairfield can still be purchased for less than $350,000. A one-bedroom apartment in this building is on the market for $319,000. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
9All of these suburbs have train stations, except Box Hill which has several stations nearby, and Five Dock, where a metro station is still under construction.
Several are major hubs, suggesting that while challenged affordability has pushed people further from the city, buyers are still prioritising convenience.
Hundreds of new and relatively affordable apartments have been built in Liverpool recently, supporting population growth in the southwestern Sydney hub. Picture: Getty
Connectivity played a big part in determining where buyers chose to live, Ms Flaherty said.
“Properties in suburbs with good road and rail networks tend to experience stronger population and price growth,” she said.
“a report found that the capital growth of apartments in suburbs along Sydney’s metro line outpaced suburbs further out by 5%.”
A new metro station is planned for Five Dock in Sydney’s inner west
affordability had become a priority for borrowers faced with rising costs, but both first-home buyers and investors were becoming eager to purchase before potential interest cuts pushed prices higher.
“We’re finding there’s a lot more people going down in price because the interest rate hikes have been so steep,”
Buyers were drawn to Merrylands, where apartments were affordable and houses offered good value for money, because it was close to Parramatta but had cheaper homes, he said.
“There’s a lot of new developments in Merrylands, and a lot of communities with roots here already,” he said.
