18 suburbs on the cusp of $2 million ‘dream home’ status

These sought-after suburbs are close to reaching a premium price point, with typical house values about to surpass $2 million.

Another 18 suburbs could join the $2 million club in coming months, with interest rate cuts giving buyers more money to spend and helping drive home values higher.

Entry into this exclusive group would put these suburbs into the top 8% in Australia for house prices, PropTrack data shows.

Eight suburbs on the verge of breaking the $2 million barrier were found in NSW, while six were found in Queensland, three in Western Australia and one in South Australia.

The suburbs on the list have median house prices between $1.9 million and $2 million, based on a minimum of 30 sales in the past year. 

Suburbs about to break the $2 million barrier

Most have recorded moderate to strong price growth in the past year, although in a few suburbs price growth has been relatively stable.

In some suburbs, such as East Fremantle, Sunrise Beach and Redfern, median house prices have briefly touched the $2 million mark in the past, but recent momentum suggests that milestone could be surpassed soon.

Reaching a $2 million median house price would mean a run-of-the-mill home in these suburbs is worth more than double that of a typical Australian house, currently valued at $915,000 according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index.

REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said a broad range of factors had helped lift these suburbs to the cusp of the multimillion-dollar market.

“While geographically diverse, these suburbs share a combination of lifestyle appeal to a diverse suite of buyers,” she said

“They are typically well-connected to employment hubs, or offer desirable amenities such as beaches, parklands, or vibrant retail and dining strips.”

A potential $2 million median price indicated just how sought-after these suburbs have become, Ms Creagh said.

“A higher value typically reflects a suburb’s desirability and the premium buyers are willing to pay for its location, lifestyle, and housing attributes.”

Sought-after suburbs enter ‘dream home territory’

Many of the suburbs about to break the $2 million barrier are located within pricier pockets of the capitals, including Wembley Downs and North Coogee in Perth’s coastal regions and Paddington and Bardon in Brisbane – now among the top 20 most expensive suburbs in each city.

In Perth, real estate agent Carlie Baker of White House Property Partners said very rapid growth in the past few years had pushed prices in North Coogee into the top end of the market, but it still offered relative value compared to more expensive beachside suburbs such as Cottesloe.

“North Coogee is now sitting in that luxury waterfront category,” she said. “You can walk to the beach, and that’s a massive attraction.” 

Despite house prices approaching $2 million, North Coogee offered relative value in comparison to pricier beachside suburbs such as Cottesloe, where most houses cost more than $3 million, Ms Baker said.

In Queensland, several soon-to-be-$2-million suburbs were found in popular pockets of the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, where strong population growth — driven in part by people relocating from the capitals — has pushed up home values.

While the suburbs about to break the $2 million barrier were typically found in the the most expensive parts of their wider city or region, that’s not exactly the case in Sydney, indicating just how expensive homes have become in Australia’s priciest capital.

Sydney has the highest median house price of the capitals — $1.56 million, according to the latest PropTrack House Price Index — meaning suburbs with $2 million-plus status are not all that far from the norm in the harbour city.

The city’s hopeful entrants to the $2 million club suburbs were dispersed across inner, middle-ring and outer regions of the city, rather than concentrated in one local market.

A few family-oriented suburbs further from the CBD, including Gymea Bay and Westleigh, offered homes with leafy outlooks or proximity to natural areas.

“Westleigh is one of those areas that a lot of people don’t know about,” said real estate agent Amy Kaslar of Ray White Upper North Shore.

“A lot of buyers are coming due to being outpriced in other markets such as Wahroonga and Beecroft.”

In northwest suburbs Kellyville and Pitt Town, prices are poised to crack the $2 million mark, with values of spacious or recently-built properties strengthening in recent years.

Although many homebuyers have flocked towards lifestyle destinations outside the capitals in recent years, the data shows that many buyers still value proximity to capital city CBDs. 

Suburbs within about a 15-30 minute commute of the CBD, such as Redfern in Sydney and Paddington and Clayfield in Brisbane have almost hit the $2 million mark, showing the value many buyers place on a home close to centres of employment.

Auctioneer and Place Paddington director Andrew Degn said Paddington’s proximity to the city, combined with its lower density and development restrictions were behind its rise to $2 million status.

“It’s all character protected and we don’t have any major developments or high rise because we simply don’t have the land to do that,” he said.

Buyers were primarily owner-occupiers purchasing their second or third home, he said.

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