This was published 7 months ago
The popular coastal suburbs where property prices rose most in summer
Spring is traditionally the busiest season for selling property, but over the past decade vendors who waited for summer have reaped stronger price growth.
Property price growth has averaged 1.8 per cent between December and February across Australia, over the period between 2014 and 2023, on figures from Neoval.
Byron Bay prices rose in summer over the past decade.Credit: Danielle Smith
This edged out the long-term average of 1.7 per cent in spring, and beat the 1.5 per cent in winter and 1.2 per cent in autumn, the analysis found. Neoval is backed by Ray White.
Many of the regional areas that recorded the strongest summertime price growth were popular holiday towns on the coast.
In NSW, the top regional markets by summertime growth were the seaside escapes of Byron Bay and Thirroul, where prices jumped on average 3 per cent each over the decade.
In Queensland, Noosa Heads and Sunshine Beach took the crown, up 2.9 per cent each, while in Victoria, the Surf Coast’s Lorne and Anglesea region rose 2.3 per cent, followed by the more inland Newtown – an inner suburb of Geelong – up 2.2 per cent.
In WA, the beach town of Busselton and the wheatbelt town of Chittering rose by 1.3 per cent on average in summertime.
Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said while the heat had come out of the property market in 2023, especially after the last interest rate rise in November, there were some areas where low numbers of homes for sale were causing prices to rise in summer.
“It’s just because there’s not that much stock on the market – it’s the scarcity,” Conisbee said.
But other areas were seeing far more holiday homes listed for sale in the summer months, including Byron Bay, adding some downward pressure to the market this season despite its long-term outperformance.
“We know there’s lots of weakness in the holiday home market because people want to reclaim the money they have invested there [as the cost of living and interest rates rise] and because of Airbnb changes happening across the country,” she said.
The analysis also looked at capital city suburbs where house prices rose most in summer.
In Sydney, Terrey Hills and Castle Hill prices were up 3.1 per cent on average in summer, and in Melbourne, Glen Waverley and Flinders rose 2.5 per cent.
Brisbane’s Rochedale and Camp Hill climbed 2.2 per cent, while Perth’s Cottesloe and Floreat added 1.5 per cent.
Ray White Byron Bay principal agent Brett Connable said the coastal area traditionally had a busy spring and summer selling season.
“We’re not quite back to a traditional summer market,” Connable said. “Sydney has a strong spring market, and we usually see that money come here but this year we haven’t seen that as much.
“The market is still recovering from the COVID boom.”
Connable said in a normal market, people decided to buy in Byron Bay over two to five years, but during COVID those decisions were pushed ahead meaning fewer buyers were now coming forward.
Lorne’s market has slowed in summer.Credit: Joe Armao
It was a similar story on the Surf Coast in Victoria, where the market had slowed in 2023 and early 2024.
Great Ocean Road Real Estate director Ian Stewart said it had been the slowest summer market he had experienced in 20 years, with holiday home buyers rethinking a move.
“The talk of more interest rate rises has put the brakes on thinking processes [of buying] even though people buying in Lorne can afford higher interest rates,” he said.
“It’s not just higher rates but higher land taxes for those who own a second home and Airbnb taxes and the constant negativity of the rising cost of living.”
Home listings are still very tight in Noosa Heads.Credit: Dan Peled
In Noosa Heads, scarcity of properties for sale was helping to keep price falls to a minimum.
Tom Offerman Real Estate’s Tom Offerman said buyers normally visited for a holiday and then returned to buy a home – many were people planning to retire.
Sixty per cent of buyers using his agency were snapping up houses, while 40 per cent were buying units, he said.
“The inventory here is in very low supply with no signs of increasing,” Offerman said. “So for someone to check into Noosa [buy], someone has to check out [sell] before they can.”