Australian Homeowners Stay Put: New Report Highlights Suburbs With the Longest Tenure
Here are the suburbs we love not to leave – Australia’s most tightly-held areas
4 min
Australians are holding onto their homes for longer, as a new report reveals some of the suburbs that are the most tightly held in the country. The newly released Domain Tenure Report reveals house owners are staying put for an average of nine years, up from seven years in 2013. Apartment owners are holding their homes for an average of eight years, up from six years in 2013.
There are many reasons why tenure periods are lengthening in Australia. Across the capital cities, the most consistent tenure increases have been in Sydney and Perth houses and Sydney and Melbourne units. Housing affordability challenges are likely a factor in more home owners staying put in Sydney and Melbourne. Whereas in Perth, a long period of weak market conditions may have discouraged people from changing homes until they can sell for more than they bought. It’s cheaper to buy a house today in Perth than in any other capital city bar Darwin, so the increasing period of tenure may also reflect buyers’ ability to secure a ‘forever home’ on the first purchase.
The report notes that transactional costs associated with moving, such as stamp duty, can distort housing decisions and be a disincentive to move. “The financial burden of stamp duty can be linked to people’s willingness to change homes to suit their current needs,” according to the report.
A long average tenure period can also reflect a suburb’s high desirability or aspirational nature, perhaps due to its strong community, the style of housing, or a prized school catchment zone. Domain chief of research and economics, Dr Nicola Powell says: “There are certain areas that people tend to stay at for much longer and that’s because they are committed to the community. So, what you can find is that those tightly held areas are very hard to gain access to.” Dr Powell commented that in certain areas “people almost stalk for houses to come up since it means you’ll gain access into that suburb”.
A long average tenure can also indicate a lack of variation in local housing stock. Growing families may opt to renovate and/or extend their existing homes to suit their changing needs, thereby staying put longer. Would-be downsizers may also stay in larger homes for longer periods because there is a lack of smaller homes available in the area.
The areas with the longest average tenure periods across Australia’s capital cities are profiled below.
The suburbs we love not to leave
Strathfield-Burwood-Ashfield area, NSW (average tenure 13 years – houses)
Within the Strathfield-Burwood-Ashfield area is the suburb of Strathfield, which is known for its grand modernised Federation homes on generous blocks in wide, leafy streets. The suburb has a large number of schools including Strathfield Girls High School, Trinity Grammar, Santa Sabina College and St Patrick’s College. The area attracts older families with teenage children who want to buy forever homes in their preferred school catchments. The median price for a four bedroom house in Strathfield is $3.01 million, down 6.3% in 2023.
Whitehorse-East, VIC (average tenure 13 years – houses)
Balwyn North is the most populous suburb within the Whitehorse-East area. Located about 10km east of Melbourne CBD, it is one of the city’s most affluent suburbs. It is known for its wide, leafy streets, large parcels of land and post-war homes that have been modernised or knocked down and rebuilt over the years. Balwyn North offers close proximity to some of Victoria’s best private schools. The median price for a four bedroom house in Balwyn North is $2.345 million, up 2% in 2023.
Centenary, QLD (average tenure 14 years – houses)
Within the Centenary area of Toowoomba is the suburb of Centenary Heights, about 4km from the CBD. The suburbs attracts younger families on a budget looking for homes they can renovate or extend over time. It’s a great alternative to the pricier neighbouring area of Middle Ridge, with the median price for a four bedroom house in Centenary Heights being $615,000, up 13.5% in 2023.
Port Adelaide (average tenure 11 years – units)
The suburb of Port Adelaide has a strong maritime history and is home to the Techport naval construction base. It was developed in the 1800s and showcases some of the best preserved colonial buildings in South Australia. A sizeable part of the town centre is heritage-listed. Much residential development over the past decade has provided more apartments and townhouses, thereby attracting younger buyers who are also drawn to the thriving social and sporting scene. The median apartment price in Port Adelaide is $533,500, up 23% in 2023.
Joondalup, WA (average tenure 11 years – houses)
The suburb of Joondalup is about 26km north of Perth CBD. It is the primary urban centre of the outer northern suburbs and has its own train station, many parks and a coastal zone featuring Burns Beach in the north and Beaumaris Beach in the south. Joondalup began its journey to becoming Perth’s ‘city of the north’ in the 1980s, when many houses and businesses were established in the area. The median price for a four bedroom house in Joondalup is $633,000, up 2.9% in 2023.
North Canberra, ACT (average tenure 12 years – houses)
Within the North Canberra area is the suburb of O’Connor, which borders bushland on the edge of the CBD. O’Connor is a uniquely quiet residential area with a much-loved local village, yet is only 3km from the city centre. O’Connor is gentrifying as families seize the opportunity to buy quarter-acre blocks with 1950s homes that they can replace with architecturally designed dream homes in tranquil bush surrounds. The median price for a four bedroom house in O’Connor is $1.588 million, down 27.8% in 2023.
Litchfield, NT (average tenure 13 years – houses)
The Litchfield municipality is on the eastern and southeastern outskirts of the Darwin-Palmerston urban area. Within Litchfield is the suburb of Humpty Doo, a popular tourist spot on the way between Darwin and Kakadu National Park. The town has a thriving agricultural industry and the warm climate enables top-quality mangoes to be grown and picked earlier than Queensland fruit. The median price for a three bedroom house in Humpty Doo is $650,000, up 11.5% in 2023.
Hobart Inner (average tenure 8 years – houses)
Within the Hobart Inner area is Sandy Bay, an affluent residential suburb known for its natural beauty, with many homes enjoying spectacular panoramic water views. It is just 1km from Hobart CBD and offers a mix of historical homes and contemporary residences. It is home to many prestigious schools and has a vibrant restaurant and café scene. The median price for a four bedroom house in Sandy Bay is $1.51 million, down 9.9% in 2023.
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3 min
Australia’s housing crisis will not be solved by first-home buyer incentives or tax changes alone, with leading property figures warning governments must tackle supply constraints if affordability is to improve.
Speaking at the Kanebridge Quarterly Property Leadership Summit in Sydney last week, expert project marketing specialist Sam Elbanna, property investor and fund manager Paul Miron and property consultant Karla McNeice said that a lack of housing supply remained the central issue facing the market.
Elbanna, Director of CPM Realty with more than 30 years’ experience in project sales, argued that successive governments had focused too heavily on stimulating demand rather than addressing the barriers preventing new housing from being delivered.
“The misconception is that politicians think the way to solve the housing crisis is to drive demand,” he said.
“The reality is that’s not the way. This is a supply-side problem, and it needs to be solved on the supply side.”
Drawing on his experience in project sales, Elbanna said policies designed to help first-home buyers often had unintended consequences, pointing to previous grants that ultimately flowed through to higher property prices.
Instead, he said developers were facing increasing red tape, approval delays and rising costs, which were discouraging new housing supply.
“In the absence of stock, demand exceeds supply,” he said.
Miron, a Co-Founder and Fund Manager of Msquared Capital, said the housing debate had become overly focused on tax policy while overlooking broader structural issues.
He argued that affordability challenges stemmed from a combination of factors, including planning constraints, supply shortages, migration levels and interest rates.
“No-one can be 100 per cent certain on the real reason for property prices is going up,” he said.
“The reason why property prices are higher is a combination of interest rates, lack of supply, migration, vacancy rates and maybe taxes play a role.”
Miron was critical of recent federal housing policy changes, warning they could reduce the number of new homes being built and further constrain supply that was even highlighted in the budget.
He also highlighted the importance of the property sector to the broader economy, noting that residential real estate and related industries employed more than one million Australians.
McNeice, who advises developers on sales strategy and market intelligence, said understanding buyers had become increasingly important as affordability pressures intensified.
While affordability remained a major consideration, she said today’s buyers were focused on value rather than simply price.
“People are looking for value for money,” she said.
She said buyers were increasingly evaluating factors such as transport connections, walkability, nearby amenities and flexible living spaces that could accommodate changing family needs.
“What infrastructure is going on? Can I walk to the shops? Can I meet people at the local cafe?” she said.
The panel also discussed the mounting pressures facing developers, with Elbanna arguing that many projects become financially unviable from the moment a site is purchased.
“The viability of a development happens at the moment the site is bought,” he said.
He said rising construction costs, higher interest rates and overly optimistic feasibility assumptions had left some developers exposed as market conditions changed.
While acknowledging the growing number of smaller and first-time developers entering the market, Elbanna said property development required expertise across finance, construction, marketing and legal disciplines.
“It is actually a business that requires a level of expertise,” he said.
Looking ahead, the panel agreed opportunities remained in the market despite current challenges.
Miron said property should continue to be viewed as a long-term investment and cautioned against trying to time short-term market movements.
McNeice said success would increasingly depend on identifying projects that genuinely met changing buyer expectations.
Elbanna said affordable housing remained achievable, but developers needed to deliver more than just homes.
“We can provide affordable housing in this country,” he said.
“But we’ve got to wrap that affordable housing with the things that people want.”
As Australia’s housing affordability debate intensifies, the panellists agreed on one point: without a meaningful increase in housing supply, demand-side measures alone are unlikely to solve the nation’s property challenges.
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