In many popular suburbs, property prices have dropped, giving buyers a chance to buy for less.
Great opportunities: Suburbs with cheaper homes available.
PropTrack data shows that in some suburbs, homes are now selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than a few years ago. In many suburbs, median sale prices have dropped more than 20% from their previous highs.
This is happening even though home prices have generally increased nationwide over the past few years and reached a new high in August.
According to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index, the national median home price went up by about 6% in the last year and has risen 44% since the start of the pandemic.
Although a typical Australian home has never been more expensive, median sale prices in many previously hot areas are now lower than their previous highs after a period of rapid growth.
The data shows that many of the suburbs where prices have dropped are in regional areas that became popular during the pandemic as people left the cities.
Prices have fallen the most in popular coastal areas in NSW and Queensland, as well as in suburbs within commuting distance of Sydney and Melbourne.
Anne Flaherty, a senior economist at PropTrack, said the price drops in many of these suburbs followed a big surge in prices when people moved to popular lifestyle spots outside the major cities.
“It’s interesting to see how much prices have corrected in these areas that performed so well during the pandemic,” she said.
“During the pandemic, there was a high demand for these lifestyle areas, and with interest rates very low, people had a lot of borrowing power.”
Suburbs where house prices are below previous peaks
| Suburb | State | Median price at peak | Month of peak | Current median price | Change since peak | |
| 1 | Palm Beach | NSW | $5,975,000 | Apr 2022 | $3,800,000 | -36.4% |
| 2 | Norwood | SA | $1,365,000 | May 2023 | $895,000 | -34.4% |
| 3 | Sunshine Beach | QLD | $3,525,000 | Jul 2022 | $2,400,000 | -31.9% |
| 4 | Coombs | ACT | $1,150,000 | Jul 2022 | $795,000 | -30.9% |
| 5 | Newington | VIC | $827,500 | Jun 2021 | $585,000 | -29.3% |
| 6 | Pearcedale | VIC | $1,400,000 | Apr 2023 | $1,010,000 | -27.9% |
| 7 | Point Lonsdale | VIC | $1,595,000 | Apr 2023 | $1,170,000 | -26.6% |
| 8 | South Hobart | TAS | $1,085,000 | Aug 2022 | $800,000 | -26.3% |
| 9 | Tocumwal | NSW | $620,000 | Jul 2023 | $462,000 | -25.5% |
| 10 | Sylvania Waters | NSW | $3,400,000 | Sep 2023 | $2,552,000 | -24.9% |
| 11 | St Kilda | VIC | $2,025,000 | Oct 2020 | $1,530,000 | -24.4% |
| 12 | South Kempsey | NSW | $455,000 | Oct 2022 | $346,000 | -24.0% |
| 13 | Mullumbimby | NSW | $1,350,000 | Mar 2022 | $1,028,000 | -23.9% |
| 14 | Mulwala | NSW | $755,000 | Feb 2023 | $575,000 | -23.8% |
| 15 | Kurrajong | NSW | $1,800,000 | Oct 2022 | $1,375,000 | -23.6% |
| 16 | Ocean Shores | NSW | $1,405,000 | Jul 2022 | $1,075,000 | -23.5% |
| 17 | Somers | VIC | $1,850,000 | Nov 2022 | $1,417,500 | -23.4% |
| 18 | Bulli | NSW | $1,850,000 | Jul 2022 | $1,420,000 | -23.2% |
| 19 | Throsby | ACT | $1,210,000 | May 2023 | $930,000 | -23.1% |
| 20 | Berry | NSW | $2,265,000 | Aug 2022 | $1,746,250 | -22.9% |
Ms. Flaherty said that the drop in prices in popular treechange and seachange areas happened after cities reopened as the pandemic eased, which reduced demand in regional areas.
“As people moved back to the city and started working in offices more, the demand for these areas has decreased,” she said.
Ms. Flaherty pointed out that Sunshine Beach in Noosa, where the median price is now $2.4 million—about 32% lower than the peak of $3.525 million in July 2022—shows this trend.
“The competition in Sunshine Beach was so high that people drove prices up,” she said.
“Now, although it’s still a desirable suburb, the demand to buy there has dropped a lot, so prices have come down.”
Sunshine Beach wasn’t the only high-end market to cool down. In the exclusive suburb of Palm Beach in Sydney’s north, the median house price fell by over $2 million to a median of $3.8 million.
Similarly, in Sylvania Waters, the median house price dropped by about 25%, or $848,000, from its peak of $3.4 million.
These price peaks in many suburbs happened around the same time that interest rates started to rise in mid-2022.
Ms. Flaherty said, “Borrowing was very cheap in 2021 and 2022, which drove up prices in many of these areas.”
“Now that interest rates are very high, people don’t have as much borrowing power.”
In Bulli, south of Sydney, real estate agent and Molenaar x McNeice director Troy McNeice explained that the 23% drop in median prices is due to fewer high-end sales compared to the pandemic boom.
“There are still many people looking for lifestyle, good value, and a commutable distance to Sydney,” he said.
He also noted that higher interest rates have changed what buyers are looking for.
“Right now, buyers seem to be more selective and want everything to be absolutely perfect,” he said.
Since April 2022, maximum borrowing capacities have dropped by about 34% due to the RBA raising interest rates 13 times.
In Berry, where prices also fell by around 23%, local agent and Raine & Horne Berry director Jacqueline Crapp said the drop in prices and the increase in homes for sale have made buying conditions easier compared to the pandemic, when a surge of city buyers drove prices up.
“We have the highest stock level I’ve seen in my career,” she said.
“Buyers will have more options this spring, and the properties coming onto the market are likely to be more competitively priced.”
Suburbs where unit prices are below previous peaks
| Suburb | State | Median price at peak | Month of peak | Current median price | Change since peak | |
| 1 | Albion | VIC | $537,500 | Feb 2021 | $275,000 | -48.8% |
| 2 | Ascot | WA | $730,000 | Jun 2020 | $425,000 | -41.8% |
| 3 | Middle Park | VIC | $1,185,000 | Jan 2022 | $695,000 | -41.4% |
| 4 | Hunters Hill | NSW | $1,528,500 | Apr 2022 | $920,000 | -39.8% |
| 5 | Geraldton | WA | $419,000 | Jul 2019 | $252,500 | -39.7% |
| 6 | Floreat | WA | $1,290,000 | Dec 2021 | $790,000 | -38.8% |
| 7 | Kingsville | VIC | $614,000 | Jul 2021 | $382,500 | -37.7% |
| 8 | Jolimont | WA | $740,000 | Mar 2022 | $470,000 | -36.5% |
| 9 | Campbell | ACT | $1,025,000 | Jun 2022 | $658,750 | -35.7% |
| 10 | Strathmore | VIC | $850,000 | Jun 2022 | $570,000 | -32.9% |
| 11 | Point Frederick | NSW | $975,000 | Mar 2023 | $660,000 | -32.3% |
| 12 | Peregian Beach | QLD | $1,224,000 | Jul 2023 | $833,000 | -31.9% |
| 13 | Norwest | NSW | $1,200,000 | Aug 2022 | $840,000 | -30.0% |
| 14 | Cremorne | VIC | $823,500 | Sep 2019 | $587,500 | -28.7% |
| 15 | Kurraba Point | NSW | $2,675,000 | Oct 2021 | $1,910,000 | -28.6% |
| 16 | Forrest | ACT | $1,187,500 | Dec 2023 | $849,500 | -28.5% |
| 17 | Sydney Olympic Park | NSW | $957,500 | Aug 2022 | $685,000 | -28.5% |
| 18 | Darling Point | NSW | $3,360,000 | Jan 2024 | $2,405,000 | -28.4% |
| 19 | Dural | NSW | $1,200,500 | Apr 2022 | $865,000 | -27.9% |
| 20 | North Rocks | NSW | $853,000 | Nov 2021 | $618,000 | -27.5% |
Even though median sale prices have dropped in these suburbs, values are still much higher compared to five years ago.
Median prices are still 82% higher in Sunshine Beach, 62% higher in Berry, 55% higher in Sylvania Waters, and 49% higher in Bulli than they were in July 2019.
Building surge reduces price pressures
Ms. Flaherty said that the drop in unit prices in many suburbs is due to an increase in housing supply from new apartment developments.
“Many of these suburbs have seen a lot of new unit construction,” she said.
“As supply has increased, prices have fallen in many of these areas.”
Hundreds of new apartments have been built in Cremorne, Victoria, and Campbell, ACT.
In Sydney Olympic Park, NSW, the number of apartments has more than tripled over the past five years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
