First published 21 Oct 2026, 1:27pm
Interest rates in Australia are back to levels not seen since 2011, but the property market that buyers and borrowers are facing today looks markedly different to how it did 15 years ago.
Analysis of realestate.com.au data has revealed the suburbs with the largest growth in sale prices over that time, showing what’s changed around the country since interest rates were last as high.
Comparing median sale prices today against 2011 paints a picture of a market now characterised by larger mortgages, elevated repayments, tighter affordability and more expensive home prices.
Use the interactive tool to see how values in your suburb changed in the past 15 years.
Fifteen years ago, Australia’s property market was worth $4.4trn – the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the total value of property has now almost tripled to $12.7trn as of June.
Approximately 20% more households held a mortgage in 2021 compared to in 2011, according to the ABS, while the average new loan size for an owner-occupier has almost doubled.
Numbers of home loans have also increased even more in the past five years, thanks in large part to an abundance of schemes targeting first-home buyers.
realestate.com.au senior economist Anne Flaherty says that while interest rates have been higher in the past, managing it has become increasingly challenging.
realestate.com.au senior economist Anne Flaherty says buyers and sellers today are contending with a very different environment to 15 years ago. Picture: Supplied
“The amount of debt people have has increased significantly from 2011 and its not just the average property price but the average loan size which has increased substantially,” she said.
“There's always talk about how you know interest rates have been higher in the past or that people have done it tougher in the past, but it really misses that point.”
The Reserve Bank increased the cash rate to 4.6% in September , with war-induced global energy price pressures continuing to complicate Australia’s high inflation problem .
Slowing demand and preventing high inflation from becoming the norm within the economy is now key for the RBA, even as higher borrowing costs weigh on households and the property market more broadly.
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock says interest rates will be raised again if neccessary. Picture: David Gray
Home prices are now 3.3% below their March 2026 peak , with values having fallen six months in a row as households contend with both the expenses of the Middle East conflict and extensive property tax changes .
Back in 2011, Australia was still on the cusp of Global Financial Crisis recovery. Economic capacity concerns were motivating the RBA to keep interest rates high as the nation experienced a strong resources boom.
However, a different economic and lending environment 15 years ago meant households grappled with distinct balances between housing costs, incomes, employment levels and debt.
Today, with home prices 164% higher in the priciest parts of the country, the impact of higher rates is considerably more pronounced for households.
“The proportion of people's incomes that goes towards their cost of housing is much higher now,” Ms Flaherty adds.
ABS data shows the average new owner-occupier home loan was about $282,400 in November 2011, which climbed to $731,000 by June 2026.
“Whether that is to buy a property, whether that's to save for a deposit, whether that's to rent, housing costs a lot more than it did proportionally compared to 15 years ago,” Ms Flaherty says.
One of the most major differences is the impact of the pandemic and the associated push into regional living for many Aussies.
The Sunshine Coast is currently the nation's most popular destination for internal regional relocation (Source: Commonwealth Bank Regional Movers Index). Picture: Getty
“There has been an increase demand for regional living,” Ms Flaherty says. “We are in an aging society. The Baby Boomers are a massive generation and had a decade where a lot of them are retiring and moving to different areas.
“There are also the younger Australians who feel like they've been priced out of capital cities moving regionally, and on top of all of that, changing work practices.”
More flexibility to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule compared with 2011 has dramatically increased prices in typically affordable regional areas.
New South Wales and Queensland have taken the largest slice of the pie when it comes to exceptional sale price growth, accounting for eight of the ten suburbs with the best performance.
The median sale price of a house in Pokolbin in the NSW Hunter Valley is up 417% compared with 2011, representing an impressive $1.3 million uptick.
Other regional NSW suburbs including Boolaroo and world-famous beachside hotspot, Byron Bay made the top ten.
Regional Queensland also continues to impress, with Gold Coast suburbs Palm Beach , Mermaid Waters and Miami making the list, along with beachside Sunshine Coast suburb, Buddina .
“Queensland is different market in that, unlike the other states, it's not one central or one greater capital city, there are major regional areas that spread out from there,” Ms Flaherty explains.
Coastal Gold Coast suburbs have come out on top when it comes to 15-year median sale price growth. Picture: Getty
“That means there's a lot of different kinds of people who move into Queensland. There's lots of economic opportunity for people looking to live there as well as the lifestyle aspect.”
The median price of a property in Darwin suburb Bellamack also cracked the top 10, with prices having increased 313% in the past 15 years as the nation’s most affordable capital continues to climb in value.
The east coast is also leading the charge when it comes to units, with suburbs in QLD and NSW exclusively making up the top 10 suburbs with the largest 15-year growth in median sales.
Prices in Tweed Heads hotspot Bogangar are up 258% compared with 2011, while Tugun and Reedy Creek join Miami among the Gold Coast suburbs that have seen the highest jumps.
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In Sydney, prices in Double Bay in the city’s exclusive eastern suburbs and Mona Vale in the pricey Northern Beaches region have jumped 219% and 230% respectively despite the capital’s lacklustre performance in recent years.
While the median price of a home in Sydney currently sits at almost $1.2m, prices have slid 5% in the past 12 months.
The suburbs with the strongest house price growth were largely concentrated in city areas, despite the outperformance of regional areas generally in recent years.
Median sale prices in the Sydney suburbs of Jordan Springs , Lethbrige Park , Whalan and Blackett in the city’s west are all up by more than 270% on 2011 prices.
This f ive-bedroom house in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Buttaba sold recently for $1.2 million. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Outside of the capital, popular regional areas have impressed in the years since 2011, with sale prices of houses up in suburbs across the Lake Macquarie , Hunter, and Blue Mountains regions.
“The pandemic really was one of the triggering things for some of those regional hotspots in NSW, especially areas that are within a commutable distance, say one to two hours from a major city,” Ms Flaherty says.
“Those spots have seen a lot of price growth and have been more resilient in a lot of places to price falls.”
A different story has emerged in Queensland however, with the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast taking the largest slice of the pie over Brisbane.
Median sale prices for houses are up 329% in Palm Beach, 316% in Mermaid Waters and 264% in Broadbeach Waters .
Further north, the closely situated suburbs of Buddina, Warana and Mooloolaba have seen median sale price jump 311%, 298% and 269% respectively since 2011.
Fletcher Riley Estate Agents co-founder and director Rebecca Fletcher says the area is one of the most special in the country.
“Buddina has gone from being a bit of a hidden gem to one of the most sought-after suburbs on the Sunshine Coast,” she said.
41 Adaluma Avenue, Buddina sold for $9.75 million earlier this year. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
“People used to come here for an affordable beach lifestyle. Now they're coming here because they recognise just how rare this location really is.”
“It shows just how desirable this part of the Sunshine Coast has become. People aren't just buying a home here, they're buying a lifestyle.
"You've got incredible beaches, waterways, fantastic amenities and everything is so accessible.
“The other big factor is the limited supply of land in these tightly held coastal suburbs. You simply can't recreate these locations.”
Fletcher Riley Estate Agents co-founder and director Rebecca Fletcher says hidden gems on the Sunshine Coast are becoming sort after pockets. Picture: realestate.com.au
In WA, Perth suburbs accounted for seven of the top 10 for 15-year growth, led by a 200% increase in Medina in the city’s south west.
Trigg (+198%), Brookdale (+180%), and Parmelia (175%) are also among the top performers – examples of the major growth in the resilient west coast capital, where property prices are 6.7% higher than 12 months ago.
The top growth suburbs in SA were almost entirely in Adelaide’s north, with median sale prices up 246% in Elizabeth Vale , up 240% in Elizabeth North and up 237% in Elizabeth South compared with 2011.
In was Somerton Park in the city’s south that came in as the state’s most successful over the past 15 years however, with the median sale price more than tripling from $601,000 to an eye-watering $2.2 million.
Once the nation’s second priciest capital, Canberra has seen relatively flat success in recent years. Despite this, all ten of the top suburbs by median price growth between 2011 and 2026 have seen a change over 120%.
Forde in the city’s north is one of only two cities outside of NSW and QLD to crack the top ten performers, with median sale prices for houses up 306% in the past 15 years.
Impressive change was also seen in Bonner (+275%), Harrison (+266+), Casey (+236%) and Crace (+216%).
7 Eugene Vincent Street, Bonner sold earlier this month for $995,000. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
The pandemic has had a defining influence on the property market in Melbourne in the years since 2011, with the once-pricey state now the nation’s slowest growing in the past five years.
Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula was the only suburb in the capital that made the top ten for largest 15-year growth in median sales, jumping 275%.
Bright (+237), Myrtleford (+237%) and Eu r oa (+204%) in the Hume region saw the highest increases, while properties in the Ballarat suburb of Clunes have moved from a median price of $208,000 in 2011 to $595,000.
Median prices have increased notably across various parts of both Hobart and Launceston since 2011, in line with Tasmania’s successful recent growth and increasing desirability.
Hobart holds the lion's share of Tasmania's highest growth suburbs by median sale price over the past 15 years. Picture: Getty
The median price of sale recorded in the Mayfield is up from $154,000 in 2011 to $500,000 in 2026, while Risdon Vale , Rokeby and Bridgewater are Hobart’s most successful, with median prices jumping 213%, 208% and 207% respectively.
Some of the largest gains when it comes to 15-year growth are in the nation’s most affordable capital, Darwin. One of Australia’s post-Covid property success stories, Darwin is home to all ten of the Northern Territory’s largest growth suburbs for houses since 2011.
JH Team Real Estate principal Jacob Reynolds says it’s welcome success after a difficult pre-Covid period for the city.
“The NT even as a whole had quite a large dip around 2015, so we are coming from quite a low base after a larger bit of growth before 2015,” he says.
JH Team Real Estate principal Jacob Reynolds says Darwin's market has faced difficult periods since 2011. Picture: realestate.com.au
“Darwin itself is a boom bust market and things are always quite up and down.”
The median sale of a home in Bellamack has jumped from $193,000 to $795,000, representing a 313% increase.
“It’s an area with a lot of larger homes with a lot of larger blocks, and is probably one of the more modern suburbs that you can still get a modern house with a larger block on for a decent price,” Mr Reynolds says.
Strong results were also seen in Johnston , also in the Palmerston local government area, where sale prices jumped 206% between 2011 to 2026 to reach a median of $810,000.
172 Lind Road, Johnston sold in August for $1.2 million. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Suburbs in both Sydney and the north coast recorded some of the biggest gains in the NSW unit market, with median prices up 258% in Bogangar and 218% in Casuarina .
In the famous ski resort town of Jindabyne , median sale prices have risen from $218,000 in 2011 to $760,000.
Three Sydney suburbs in the city’s more affordable west cracked the state’s top ten. Median sale prices were up 263% in St Marys , 217% in Werrington and 212% in Macquarie Fields .
In Queensland, it was Sunshine Coast suburbs Pelican Waters and Noosa Heads that joined top-performing Gold Coast suburbs, with the regional mega markets knocking Brisbane suburbs from the list.
Median sale prices for units are up from $395,000 to $1.2 million in Pelican Waters, situated at the furthest southern end of the Sunshine Coast. Meanwhile, at the most northern tip, units in Noosa Heads are typically selling for $1.9 million, compared to $610,000 in 2011.
Every pocket of Perth has a suburb where units are selling for significantly more than the last time interest rates were high.
It's an unsurprising find for what has been one of the nation's biggest success story since Covid and saw gains of 15–20% in its fastest-growing period in 2024 and 2025.
Prices up significantly in the south east suburbs of Camillo (+168%), Armadale (+146%) and Kelmscott (+129%), as well as in the north west of the city in suburbs like Balcatta (+113%), Osborne Park (+111%) and Dianella (+110%).
Suburbs across every corner of Perth have had strong price growth compared with 15 years ago. Picture: Getty
It’s a similar story in Adelaide where median sale prices have skyrocketed in multiple parts of the city. While the realestate.com.au Home Price Index shows Adelaide recorded the largest capital-city fall in home values last month, units are still 7.4% more expensive than 12 months ago following a strong decade for the city.
Units sold for a median price of $240,000 in top-performer Morphett Vale in 2011, with that figure having now jumped to $641,000.
Sale prices were also up $152% in Magill , 152% Salisbury and 145% in inland hotspot, Mount Barker.
Growth in the past 15 years in Canberra’s unit market has been weaker than other capitals, though strong results were seen in Holt (+103%) and Casey (+81%).
A two-bedroom apartment at 68 Hardwick Crescent, Holt sold earlier this year for $429,000. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
In Victoria, it was regional hotspot Mildura where unit sale prices have increased most, going from a median of $147,000 in 2011 to $400,000.
Capel Sound in the Mornington Peninsula is the only Melbourne suburb to crack the state’s top ten, with median sale prices up 123% in the past 15 years.
In Tasmania, units are 4.5% more expensive in Hobart and 11.3% more expensive in the rest of the state compared with 12 months ago.
Looking back even further to 2011, the Launceston suburb of Riverside was where sale prices have risen most, moving from a median of $212,000 to reach $555,000.
The Hobart suburbs of Glenorchy , Claremont , Howrah , South Hobart and Sandy Bay were also among the state’s best performers.
Premium coastal hotspot Nightcliff was the big winner of the past 15 years in the NT, with median unit prices jumping 26% from $330,000 to $415,000.
Alice Springs suburb Gillen was the only NT suburb outside of Darwin to see an uptick in median sale price over the past 15 years, up from $324,000 to $327,000.
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