Expert names the 17 suburbs and regions set for property market outperformance
A property researcher has named 17 regions to watch in 2026, and they range from a “dormant” city to a region once considered a “downmarket problem area.”
The suburbs and regions to watch in 2026 have been revealed, and they range from a city that lay “dormant” during the property boom to a region once considered a “downmarket problem area”.
Hotspotting founder and author of the new book ‘Why Property Values Rise’ Terry Ryder said the 17 places chosen in his new book shared similar qualities, and were already showing the hallmarks of market outperformance, including rising cycles over the past few years.
“Locations that outperform the market averages have common qualities because I’ve made a particular study of them for the past 20 years – it’s been a crusade of sorts,” Mr Ryder said.
“Real estate consumers often fixate on the idea that individual suburbs will do better than their neighbours.
“The reality is that it’s rare for one suburb to star while its neighbours underperform.”
Mr Ryder said that market performance tends to happen in clusters, with a group of suburbs being influenced by the same factors, such as a major new piece of infrastructure.
Looking at markets that feature diverse economies, populations over 15,000, good existing infrastructure and evidence of new major infrastructure, low vacancy rates, increasing employment opportunities, and strong sales activity, Mr Ryder identified 17 areas
set to outperform over the next five years.
“In my formula, the local economy is the pivotal factor,” he said.
“It’s worth repeating this point because real estate is local in nature and real estate markets arise out of local economies.
“It’s apparent that the notion of an Australian property market driven by interest rate trends and consumer confidence is nonsense.
“There are always more complex forces in play.”
TERRY RYDER’S 17 PLACES TO WATCH IN 2026 AND BEYOND
Albury–Wodonga, NSW/VIC
Mr Ryder said the regional centre had the almost-unique characteristic of functioning as one city across two states.
“It’s an important location logistically because of its proximity to Sydney, Canberra
and Melbourne. Many big businesses have distribution centres there,” he said.
“The economy is strong and diverse, and it’s on the route of the $31 billion Inland
Rail link connecting Melbourne to Brisbane.
“Its lifestyle elements include the Murray River, Lake Hume and nearby mountain
regions.”
Blacktown City, NSW
Mr Ryder said the suburb of Blacktown and the municipality of the same name “defied
many of the myths that clutter the real estate air waves”.
“It’s stigmatised as a downmarket problem area a long way from the Sydney CBD,
yet Blacktown and neighbouring suburbs have long-term growth rates above 10 per cent
per year,” he said. “The reality is that the Western Sydney economy is one of the nation’s success stories, and from that has sprung real estate growth.
“Blacktown has good infrastructure – including motorway and rail connections, a
hospital, a university campus and massive employment nodes nearby – and
government spending has enhanced this in recent years, with plenty more to come.”
Brisbane (Inner), QLD
Mr Ryder said Greater Brisbane had been one of the nation’s growth markets since
2023, buoyed by a strong economy, big infrastructure spending and internal
migration bringing new residents to Queensland.
“Its prices have overtaken Melbourne and it’s likely to keep on rising, with the 2032
Summer Olympics poised to generate more momentum,” he said.
“Studies of cities that have hosted the Games show an undeniable impact on real
estate, primarily in the years preceding the event, because of the massive investment in infrastructure to get ready.
“History also suggests that the suburbs closest to the main Olympics venues receive
the greatest uplift – and in Brisbane’s case that means the suburbs clustered around
the CBD.
“Significant lifestyle features have evolved in riverside precincts such as South Bank,
New Farm and Hamilton, giving inner Brisbane major lifestyle appeal at relatively
affordable prices, particularly with apartments.”
Revealed: Queensland’s top property suburbs for 2026
Bunbury, WA
Mr Ryder said Bunbury on a major growth path in 2022 and had three stellar
years thereafter.
“Its most affordable suburbs, Carey Park and Withers, have averaged 19 per cent to 20 per cent per year growth in their median prices over the past five years,” he said.
“Bunbury offers a seaside lifestyle, investment in major infrastructure – including the
$1.25 billion ring road, affordable homes and a price-to-yield ratio that attracted
investors from 2022 to 2025.
“The city has the underlying credentials to be a growth market long term, beyond the
recent boom period, including proximity to Perth and relative affordability.”
Burnie, TAS
Mr Ryder said Burnie is the Tasmanian version of the kind of places that led the
nation on rising property values between 2020 and 2025 – small, little-known
regional centres with diverse economies, investment in business enterprises and
infrastructure, lifestyle benefits and affordable dwellings.
“This northern coastal centre has an important export port that also welcomes cruise
ships, and it’s the centre of a renewable energy zone attracting state government
investment,” he said. “Regional Tasmania was identified by PIPA research as the number one jurisdiction in Australia for price growth in the 20 years to 2024 and was showing signs of
moving into another growth phase in 2025, alongside a recovering Hobart market.
“Suburbs of Burnie have median house prices in the $300,000s and $400,000s, and
several of them have long-term growth averages around 10 per cent or 12 per cent per year.”
Darwin, NT
Mr Ryder says that late in 2024 his analysis of forward-looking data detected the first
stirrings of a revival in the long-dormant Darwin market.
“A national analysis of infrastructure investment revealed that Darwin had the biggest
per capita spend in the works of all the market jurisdictions in the nation,” he said.
“There were indications of improvement in the stuttering Northern Territory economy.
Mr Ryder said the city had the lowest prices and the highest rental yields of the eight state and territory capital cities, and sales activity was starting to rise.
“Within six months, it had become the hottest market in Australia,” he said.
“As a small city that is strategically important for resources and defence, it’s had a boom-bust history, but at the time of writing its future looks very positive.
“It would feature high on a national top 10 list published in 2026 or 2027.”
Frankston, VIC
Mr Ryder said the Melbourne market overall was in the doldrums when smaller cities
were booming in 2023 and 2024.
“There were signs of revival late in 2024 and early in 2025, led by the City of
Frankston, which quickly became one of the hottest markets in Greater Melbourne,”
he said. “The suburb of Frankston and others in the LGA of the same name have much to
offer – a bayside setting, motorway and rail links to Melbourne, lots of amenities,
including extensive green space, and relative affordability.
“The big kicker is work on another of those billion-dollar hospital projects that are so
influential in real estate. Buyer demand has also been rising strongly.”
Geelong, VIC
Mr Ryder said Geelong was deemed to have a bleak future when many of the old
industries were closing.
“I was strongly recommending Geelong as an investment choice in 2017,” he said.
“Geelong, I thought, had a big future as an affordable lifestyle alternative to
Melbourne.
“The local economy was transitioning successfully from the old industries to the new
ones, with the health and education sectors now the biggest employers.
“The recommended suburbs of Geelong were mostly on the Bellarine Peninsula, with
access to water-based lifestyle amenities. And they were affordable relative to
Melbourne.
“In 2025 there were indications that Geelong was entering a new growth phase.”
Buyers strike early for renovated home
Logan City, QLD
Mr Ryder said Logan encompassed the southern suburbs of Greater Brisbane,
providing the urban bridge between central Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which are
connected by rail links and the M1, soon to be replicated by a new motorway.
“The Gateway Motorway and the Logan Motorway intersect with the M1 in Logan, so
it’s a nerve centre for transport links in Southeast Queensland,” he said.
“The LGA includes a major medical precinct and university campus, lots of
commercial and industrial precincts, big retail along the route of the M1 and a
surprisingly large number of golf courses.
“If you like the Gold Coast but can’t afford to buy there, neighbouring Logan is a
good option.”
Melbourne (Inner), VIC
Mr Ryder said three factors were giving momentum to the inner-city areas of
Melbourne.
“These include the general upturn in the Victoria market after a couple of slow years
that left Greater Melbourne with prices cheaper than Brisbane, much cheaper than
Sydney and Canberra and on a par with Adelaide and Perth – and therefore good
value for money,” he said. “It also has an improving economy, high population growth – mostly overseas migrants – and big infrastructure investment.
“The rise and rise of apartments – suburbs in the City of Melbourne LGA, including
Carlton, Kensington, North Melbourne and the CBD, were recording rising buyer
demand in 2025, helped by proximity to city offices, two big university campuses and
a major hospitals precinct.”
Melbourne steals Sydney’s crown with $131m+ house sale record
Mount Gambier, SA
Mr Ryder said South Australia’s largest population centre outside of Adelaide was 20th
on the post-Covid list, growing more than 70 per cent in the five years with the
numbers set to strengthen further.
“New residents have been moving there, and investors have discovered it for its
affordability and solid yields,” he said. “Competition from growing numbers of buyers has put upward pressure on prices, which have been rising steadily since 2021.
“In four years, the median house price moved from $280,000 to $500,000.
“It’s a regional city with a strong future, and it has that combination of economy,
lifestyle and affordability that will attract buyers and drive prices still higher.”
Rockhampton, QLD
Mr Ryder said the Central Queensland city was always destined to become a boom
market.
“The vibrant local economy and the exodus to affordable lifestyle trend has brought
new residents to Rockhampton, and in 2024 and 2025 it became an investor target
because prices were low, yields were high and future growth prospects looked
good,” he said. “When the market was at its most frenzied, houses were selling as fast as vendors could list them, with dozens of buyers competing for individual properties.
“The city’s economy is diverse, comprising manufacturing, tourism, military,
agriculture, resources and renewable energy, and multiple billions are being invested
in new infrastructure, including the ring road, a major water pipeline and the
Shoalwater Bay Training Area. This suggests that long-term growth is part of Rockhampton’s future.”
Salisbury or Playford, SA
Mr Ryder said the northern suburbs of Adelaide presented a great case for buying in
downmarket locations with good amenities, infrastructure investment, major
employment nodes and affordable dwellings regardless of what the “real estate
snobs” would say.
“The capital growth rates in recent years have been extraordinary, vacancies have
been ultra-low, and rents have grown strongly,” he said. “Most people who bought there in 2020 would have more than doubled their money by 2025.
“Just as one example, the suburb of Para Hills lifted its median house price from
$340,000 to over $700,000 in five years.
“There are dozens of similar examples. Underpinning it all is one of Australia’s strongest
state economies.”
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Mr Ryder rates the Sunshine Coast among the strongest economic and real estate
stories in the nation.
“It has transitioned from a tourist town with a struggling property market to one of
Australia’s major growth cities – one with pretensions to be regarded as an
international city,” he said. “It’s a case study of how investment in infrastructure can be the ultimate gamechanger.
“Around 2020 the Sunshine Coast was in the midst of rolling out an infrastructure pipeline totalling $20 billion.
“Although tourism remains an important industry to the Sunshine Coast, its economy
is insulated by the evolving medical precinct, the ongoing construction of the CBD
and population growth, for which the region consistently ranks in the national top 10.”
Luxury retreat attracting Robert Irwin hits the market
Toowoomba, QLD
Mr Ryder said Toowoomba ticks all the boxes due to its a multi-faceted economy, a
growing population, big infrastructure projects, lifestyle features and affordable
dwellings.
“Two transport infrastructure events have put Toowoomba on the map nationally and
internationally – a new airport with direct flights to Sydney and Melbourne, and the
$31 billion Inland Rail link, for which Toowoomba is the main Queensland hub,” he
said.
“This has inspired businesses to target major ventures on land close to the airport
and rail hub.
“Additional economic impetus will come from construction of a billion-dollar hospital,
which will operate in addition to the existing major hospital. This is a recipe for why
property values rise.”
Townsville, QLD
Mr Ryder said it’s a sure bet that a five-year growth list in a year or two will have
Townsville a lot higher than its 28th place in 2025.
“Townsville has been a leading growth market from 2023 to 2025, with many
suburbs recording 25 per cent to 30 per cent increases in their median house prices in a single
year,” he says.
“This is one of the nation’s strongest regional economies, with major contributions
from tourism, military, resources, education, medical, manufacturing and government
administration.
“It entered its latest growth phase offering affordable homes, attracting new residents
as well as investors. It gets whacked by tropical weather events every so often, and
that means insurance costs are high, but buyers don’t seem to care.”
Townsville home sells for less than typical mortgage deposit
Wollongong, NSW
Mr Ryder said the Illawarra region was an important economy to New South Wales,
headed by Wollongong and supported by the Shoalhaven and Shellharbour LGAs.
“It has transitioned successfully from the old economy to a modern one, with the
education, medical and IT sectors now important, as well as tourism and the region’s
export port at Port Kembla,” he said.
“Being close to Sydney and being seen as a relatively affordable lifestyle alternative
to the big city is important.
“As more Sydney residents seek options outside of Australia’s most expensive city –
but not too far away – Wollongong and nearby towns will gain new residents, putting
further upward pressure on prices.”
Originally published as Expert names the 17 suburbs and regions set for property market outperformance
