Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, many of Australia’s property markets have experienced some extraordinary price growth.
Many locations, both city-based and regional, achieved unprecedented price increases with median house and unit prices soaring as demand hit new highs. Where once a million-dollar house or unit median was unusual, that recent growth has launched many locations into that club for the first time.
As of January 2025, there were 1,194 suburbs or towns with a median house price or median unit price of $1 million or more – 50 more than in September 2024.
These figures show that although price growth may have eased in some locations in the past six months, the number of million-dollar markets continues to increase throughout Australia.
And there are still plenty of opportunities for investors to find markets that are set to tip over into million-dollar markets in 2025.
The latest Hotspotting and Propertybuyer, National Million Dollar Hotspots report shows there are plenty of markets teetering on the edge of a million-dollar median.
They are the markets where price growth has been steady in recent years and demand remains strong. ith that trajectory set to continue, these markets will soon breach the million-dollar barrier.
They are also strong markets for investors, where rents have been rising, yields are solid and vacancy rates are low.
Residential properties line the Sydney suburb of Birchgrove in Australia.
There is a distinct lure to investing in a suburb with a million-dollar median and it’s not just the prestige of the price tag. The magic of buying in a million-dollar suburb is its capital growth potential.
By reaching a million-dollar median, it’s already proven to be a desirable location where owner-occupiers and investors are prepared to pay top dollar to secure a piece of the action.
There are plenty of inner-city markets throughout Australia which already have million-dollar medians, but successful investors are those who find locations where prices aren’t just rising, but the fundamentals and amenities are in place to ensure ongoing solid price growth and increasing demand for properties in the suburb.
It’s essential when considering a million-dollar location to invest in that it meets a variety of criteria, not just price point. There needs to be ongoing demand for property and significant amenities to meet community needs, such as public transport, shops, schools and recreation spaces, whether that be beaches, parks or lakes.
Infrastructure spending is also important, as is solid population growth and access to good local employment opportunities. These are factors that will keep buyers returning time and again to these suburbs and increased buyer demand is what will keep prices increasing to $1 million and beyond.
Southport on the Gold Coast is a good example of this. Within less than six months, the median house price in Southport, which was a selection in our October 2024 report, has breached the $1 million median mark.
It had a median house price of around $970,000 in September 2024, which hit $1.04 million in February 2025 – that’s a rise of $70,000 in just five months.
The suburb has achieved 15% median house price growth in the 12 months to February 2025 – and is an example of what can be achieved in the Million Dollar Hotspots.
Terry Ryder is the Managing Director of HotSpotting
“New book reveals politicians’ policies inflate property values, making homes less affordable; insights for buyers from Terry Ryder.”
Politicians often speak about housing affordability, but a new book reveals how their policies are in fact fuelling higher property values and making homes less affordable. Terry Ryder from Hotspotting joins to discuss his new book Why Property Values Rise.
We explore what politicians really want when it comes to property prices, how location myths mislead buyers, and why luxury features like pools or prestige suburbs aren’t what really drive value.
Ryder also explains how constant change shapes the housing market, what myths investors should ignore, and the key insights every buyer needs to know.
The biggest single problem causing Australia’s housing crisis is the cost of creating new dwellings.
The cost of the standard city house-and-land package is now $950,000 and is getting scarily close to $1 million for a newly constructed house in our capital cities.
Governments of all levels and persuasions tell us constantly that they desperately want to improve housing affordability, but what few of them shout about as loudly is that about 40% of the cost of new housing is made up of government taxes, fees and charges.
It seems incongruous that when cost is the biggest factor preventing new dwellings from being built, governments, which promise they are working on solutions, are doing nothing to ease the tax burden.
Builders and developers cannot deliver their normal products because the cost of construction is prohibitively high.
Earlier this year, the Productivity Commission revealed that government interference and bureaucracy had massively reduced productivity in the building industry.
Delays double the timeline
It now takes twice as long to deliver a new home compared to the 1990s.
This alone added considerable cost to new homes to the point where it is often no longer financially viable to build.
Recent analysis by the National Australia Bank confirms this. Its quarterly Residential Property Survey found that high construction costs and delays in getting approvals are by far the biggest barriers to producing new homes across Australia.
While much of the media would have us believe that interest rates are a big barrier, that was not the case, with very few of the survey respondents nominating that or tight finance as an issue.
It doesn’t matter how many new homes the Federal Government says it will build: until the issues of bureaucratic delays, high property taxes and the overall cost of construction are dealt with, building targets will not be met and the shortage will remain.
Australia’s mortgage market soars to $4.62 billion in June 2025, led by first-home buyers prioritizing debt repayment.
Australia’s mortgage market is surging, with loans through the nation’s largest broker network hitting $4.62 billion in June 2025, the second-highest month on record.
First-home buyers are leading the charge, while most borrowers are choosing to pay down debt rather than ease repayments despite lower rates.