Realestate.com.au’s Hot 100 suburbs of 2024 named

Looking for a first home, upgrade or investment? Property bosses and leading buyers’ advocates have named their top picks for the year ahead.

Family-friendly and affordable suburbs have dominated expert picks for the best-performing ­suburbs of 2024 in the Realestate.com.au annual Hot 100.

East Coast postcodes and towns dominated the predicted top performers’ list, which was compiled by the online property portal with input from real estate bosses and leading buyers’ advocates from around the country.

Despite the smaller capital cities of Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane outperforming the rest of the country through 2023, PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher said the Hot 100 highlights ample opportunities “right across the country”.

“There are a lot of things that make a suburb ‘hot’: it can be in a desirable location that drives more demand, it can be under­going gentrification to make it more attractive, it can be relatively affordable (compared) to other surrounding suburbs,” Mr Kusher said in the report.

Ray White managing director Dan White’s top picks for 2024 were this year’s overlooked suburbs, those whose growth did not stack up against neighbouring strong performers.

Using that methodology, the national real estate boss named Brisbane’s southwest suburb of Darra, Burwood, east of Melbourne, and north Adelaide’s Parafield Gardens as ones to watch. Even Mosman in Sydney leafy blue-chip eastern suburbs made the list.

“There is no logic why these suburbs got left behind,” Mr White said.

“It's just typical buyer behaviour, focusing on one area. We think in time, they will realise these too present good value comparatively.”

The western Sydney suburbs of Raby and Glenmore Park were favourites of LJ Hooker chief executive Christine Mikhael due to their affordability and the broader region’s growth potential. Lifestyle factors also saw her name the Gold Coast’s Arundel and Elanora as suburbs to watch.

Ray White Group managing director Dan White. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

LJ hooker chief executive Christine Mikhael.

Investor buyer’s agent Simon Pressley’s top pick for next year was the Queensland city of Townsville, with non-capital city hotspots of Cairns and Toowoomba in the Sunshine State, NSW’s Maitland and Armidale and Tasmania’s Burnie also offering great opportunities in 2024.

“There are 400 towns and cities in Australia and gone are the days where you can buy a solid house in the central part of a capital city for less than $800,000,” said Mr Pressley, the founder of Propertyology. “That doesn’t mean capital cities won’t grow, but you can put so much capital into one asset when you don’t have to and, with some of the other 400, quite frankly have a much better outlook anyway.”

Townsville was a top pick. Picture: Alix Sweeney

On Townsville, Mr Pressley said: “Nowhere in Australia has seen the same economic expansion over the past five years.”

However, Harcourts chief executive Adrian Knowles argues the Victorian Gippsland town of Churchill is the “investment pick of the lot”, due to the combination of infrastructure and the presence of Federation University Australia. He also believes Morayfield in South East Queensland’s Moreton Bay region and the South Australian border town of Mount Gambier are attractive for investors.

Newly appointed Real Estate Buyers Agents Association president Melinda Jennison picked second time entrant Petrie, in Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, and Brisbane northside suburb Keperra for their affordability.

Melbourne-based buyers advocate Cate Bakos nominated Albion and Mentone in her hometown for their amenity.