Regional NSW on the Rise as Buyer Demand Picks Up Pace
Hotspotting
Is Regional NSW Australia’s next property hotspot? 🏡 Our latest Price Predictor Index reveals a quiet surge in buyer demand across key regional centres — with standout growth in places like Wollongong, Wagga Wagga and Port Macquarie. In this episode, we unpack what’s driving this rising momentum, why some areas are outperforming, and what it means for investors, homeowners and first-time buyers. From lifestyle appeal to affordability advantages, discover which regional markets are heating up — and which are falling flat. 🎧 Tune in to find out where the smart money’s...
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Winter 2025 Price Predictor Index: Australia’s Surprising New Hotspots
Hotspotting
Which property markets are heating up—and which are cooling down? In this episode of The Property Playbook, Tim Graham sits down with Australia’s leading independent property analyst, Terry Ryder of Hotspotting, to unpack the insights from the Winter 2025 edition of the Price Predictor Index. Discover which capital cities and regional areas are showing the strongest buyer demand right now, which markets are entering a second growth wave, and why Sydney has fallen to last place. 🧠 Key Takeaways: How sales activity is a leading indicator of future price growth Why Darwin has surged...
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Australia’s Land Supply Crisis Intensifies Amid Rising Prices
Hotspotting
Australia’s housing crisis is deepening — but why are land prices still soaring even as sales hit a 25-year low? In this episode, we unpack the latest Residential Land Report, exposing the growing mismatch between demand and supply of shovel-ready land. From skyrocketing prices in Perth to policy inertia in Canberra, we explore what’s fuelling the bottleneck, why the government’s 1.2 million homes target may be wishful thinking, and what it all means for affordability, construction, and first-home buyers. Curious about the real roadblocks to housing in Australia? Tune in. ...
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Why Steady Markets Could Be Your Smartest Investment Yet
Hotspotting
Everyone wants growth — but what about consistency? In this episode, we explore a different kind of opportunity: Australia’s most consistent property markets, where buyer demand remains steady quarter after quarter. These are the quiet achievers — suburbs and regions that may not always make headlines but have delivered impressive long-term growth. We highlight: ✅ The top 50 most consistent locations across Australia 📍 Why Kingaroy is now a national standout 📊 How Brisbane, Melbourne, and Regional Queensland are showing strong signs of stability 🏡 The LGAs where demand is...
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Hidden Hotspots Fueling Australia’s Housing Market Growth
Hotspotting
Think Sydney and Melbourne lead the property market? Think again. In this episode, we reveal the surprising frontrunners from the Winter edition of The Price Predictor Index — and it’s the smaller capitals and regional markets stealing the spotlight. 📍 Darwin tops the list as Australia's hottest market 📈 Hobart is making a powerful comeback 🏡 Regional South Australia and Regional Victoria are quietly outperforming 📉 Meanwhile, Sydney is now the weakest market nationwide We dig into why these shifts are happening, what’s driving demand in unexpected places, and where...
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Why Darwin Is Now the Hottest Property Market in Australia
Hotspotting
What’s really happening in Australia’s property markets? In this episode, we break down the new Winter edition of the Price Predictor Index — and the results are anything but expected. 🏆 Darwin has skyrocketed to become the hottest market in the country, with sales activity going ballistic. 📈 Hobart is making a strong comeback after a quiet spell. 📉 And Sydney? It's the only capital we’ve labelled a Loser this quarter. We reveal the cities and regions where buyer demand is surging — and where it's slipping — plus the Top 50 Supercharged Suburbs that are primed for growth....
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What’s Really Stopping Homeowners from Downsizing or Upgrading?
Hotspotting
Why Moving House Costs More Than You Think Thinking of moving home? It’s not just about finding the right property anymore — the real hurdle is the staggering cost of moving. In cities like Sydney and Melbourne, transaction costs for selling, buying, and relocating now average over $100,000. For many, this financial burden is a major reason they stay put, even when their current home no longer suits their needs. The biggest single cost? Stamp duty — a tax often called the silent killer of housing mobility. Why is this outdated tax still strangling the market, and how could reform unlock...
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Behind the Curtain of Affordable Housing Promises
Hotspotting
Affordable Housing: The Great Political Mirage Politicians love to promise “affordable housing” — but where are the numbers? Behind the headlines and media events, affordable homes remain an elusive dream, buried under soaring land prices, construction costs, and government taxes. From Brisbane’s zoning reforms to Sydney’s grand plans, we unpack why these announcements often fall short of reality. Why is genuine affordability missing from the conversation? And what’s really stopping new homes from becoming truly affordable? Tune in as we cut through the spin and reveal the hard...
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Factors Behind Rising Property Prices
Hotspotting
Is Australia really heading into the “grandaddy of all property booms” just because of a couple of interest rate cuts? If you believe the headlines, that’s exactly what’s happening. But here’s the problem: those headlines are mostly rubbish. In this episode, we cut through the media hype and take a hard look at what’s really driving property prices – and it’s not interest rates. From shallow journalism to economist echo chambers, we expose the flawed logic behind the property boom narrative and explain why it doesn’t stack up against real data or historical precedent. Join us...
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From Wall Street to Toorak: Luxury Real Estate with Nicholas Brooks | Marshall White Stonnington
Hotspotting
How does someone go from trading commodities in New York City to selling some of Melbourne’s most luxurious homes? In this episode of The Property Playbook, host Tim Graham sits down with Nicholas Brooks, Director of Marshall White Stonnington, to explore his unique journey into real estate and what it takes to thrive in the top end of Melbourne’s property market. 🔑 What you'll learn in this episode: Nick’s transition from finance in New York to high-end real estate in Melbourne What makes Stonnington one of Melbourne’s most desirable property regions The current trends in...
info_outlinePrice data for Sydney provides a striking example of why it’s so important not to generalise about property markets.
According to the big-name research sources, Sydney prices grew only a few percent overall in the past 12 months, but individual precincts within Greater Sydney have recorded price growth at boom levels.
Unfortunately for people trying to make informed real estate decisions, economists and journalists like to speak about “the Australian property market” and forecast what will happen with “Australian house prices” in the year ahead.
This is not only worthless information for Australians consumers, but it shouts very loudly that the economists and journalists making those generalisations know very little about residential real estate.
Even data on “Sydney house prices” is misleading and next to useless, because it tells us nothing about what’s happening in the Northern Beaches suburbs or in the many locations within the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA or out at Blacktown or further west at Penrith.
Because some of the individual precincts within the Greater Sydney metropolitan area have booming property markets.
According to PropTrack data, Sydney’s median house price grew just 2.5% in the past 12 months, but Hotspotting analysis shows that most of the suburbs in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown rose by 12-15% and some suburbs increased more than 20%.
Several of the unit markets in this LGA have also recorded double-digit growth in their median prices.
It’s because this precinct is an out-performer within the Greater Sydney area that we have been featuring it as one of our main recommendations for Sydney over the past 12 months or so.
In the Bayside LGA, another market we have recommended in our Top 5 Sydney Hotspots report recently, many suburbs have recorded median price growth well above 10% in the past year – and this includes both house and unit markets.
It’s worth remembering that more than half of all sales across Greater Sydney now are attached dwellings – units, townhouses, apartments. The market share of houses on land has been falling steadily over the past 12-18 months and now attached dwellings dominate.
Several of the unit markets in the Bayside LGA, including some that have median prices in the $700,000s, have recorded double-digit annual price growth in defiance of the average results for Greater Sydney.
It's true also of the Inner West LGA, which is increasingly dominated by attached dwelling sales. The median house price in most suburbs is well above $2 million, but many suburbs have median unit prices in the $800,000s and $900,000s – and some of those have recorded median price growth in the 7% to 12% range in the past year.
Again, this is well above Sydney averages – and it highlights the key message, that real estate is local in nature and that buyers should be focusing on the areas that are likely to perform city norms.
And 2025 will be no different.