New data reveals suburbs with ‘astronomical growth’ in home prices over five years

If you bought in these Sydney suburbs or regional towns five years ago, congratulations, you have won real estate’s version of the lottery.

“Astronomical growth” over the past five years has seen suburbs emerge as property “lottery” winners.

Median house prices across NSW have doubled in many suburbs with the Central Coast and Northern Beaches emerging as some of the luckiest home and unit owners across the state.

According to latest PropTrack data, beachside suburbs in these areas dominated price growth for houses and units since 2018.

North Avoca topped the list for the biggest growth in house prices across Greater Sydney with a 105 per cent jump to a median price of $1.8m, closely followed by Copacabana with 104 per cent growth to $1.9m.

A small cottage in North Avoca (red roof) broke the suburb record in 2021 of $8.1m.

A clifftop property at 171 Del Monte Place, Copacabana is up for sale for $2m.

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Sydney suburbs in the top 10 for house growth included Palm Beach, Vaucluse, Greenwich and Hunters Hill.

When it came to units, the inner west suburb of Annandale topped the list with 83 per cent growth to a median price of $1.2m, followed by Central Coast and Northern Beaches suburbs.

Meanwhile regional areas including Jindabyne, at the edge of the Snowy Mountains, Kingscliff and Casuarina in the Tweed region and Teralba in Lake Macquarie made the national top 10 for soaring median prices.

PropTrack’s director of economic research and report author Cameron Kusher said there had been “astronomical growth” in many areas.

Median house prices in Palm Beach on the Northern Beaches rose by 71 per cent.

PropTrack’s director of economic research and report author Cameron Kusher said there had been “astronomical growth” in terms of house prices across regional markets while there was also a strong trend to coastal living.

“We are looking over five years but some of these suburbs didn’t take off until the pandemic hit,” he said.

“That has undoubtedly driven a lot of this growth … people wanted to get out of the city and move to markets where, relatively speaking, prices were cheaper.”

Mr Kusher said the Central Coast was the prime example of a region that took off during the pandemic.

Central Coast beachside suburbs recorded huge growth over five years.

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“People wanted to get out of Sydney and the Central Coast had generally cheaper housing prices, even areas on the beach,” he said.

“Where the prices are up, they are significantly higher than the median prices you pay in Sydney … that speaks to people wanting the lifestyle out of the city.”

He said prices were “coming back” across the coast, due to people making the move back to the city.

Mr Kusher said prices in areas such as Vaucluse and Palm Beach in Sydney were rising during the five years with the ongoing coastal trend, while Richmond and Hunters Hill had grown in terms of new housing.

A view to the town of Jindabyne, Snowy Mountains. Picture: Getty Images

He said the extraordinary growth of Jindabyne, which recorded the second highest growth across Australia with median house prices rising by 148 per cent along with unit prices by 105 per cent, was a further sign of the shift to locations offering better lifestyles.

“People didn’t know how long the pandemic was going to last and they went looking for of a lifestyle with more space,” he said.

TOP 10 GREATER SYDNEY SUBURB GROWTH

HOUSES

North Avoca – 105 per cent growth – median price $1.8m

Copacabana – 104 per cent – $1.9m

Palm Beach – 71 per cent – $5m

Vaucluse – 69 per cent – $8.5m

Greenwich – 61 per cent – $3.85m

Hunters Hill – 58 per cent – $4.275m

Harrington Park – 56 per cent – $1.48m

Avoca Beach – 55 per cent – $1.468m

Wamberal – 54 per cent – $1.695m

Terrigal – 54 per cent – $1.47m

This home in Vaucluse, with water views, sold for $16.375m in late 2022.

UNITS

Annandale – 83 per cent growth – median price $1.2m

Long Jetty – 66 per cent – $740,000

The Entrance – 43 per cent – $650,000

Richmond – 40 per cent – $655,000

Terrigal – 40 per cent – $1.2m

Gorokan – 36 per cent – $510,000

Narrabeen – 35 per cent – $1.2m

Ettalong – 33 per cent – $830,000

Umina Beach – 31 per cent – $825,000

Avalon Beach – 31 per cent – $1.15m