Australian property is once again in the midst of a growth cycle. After prices cooled in late 2024, 2025 has, aside from a flat January, delivered consistent gains. Much of this momentum is being fuelled by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s ongoing easing cycle, which has yet to reach its “terminal rate,” with several more rate cuts expected through the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.

Affordability has become the defining challenge in the residential real estate market. First home buyers are struggling to break in, squeezed by high entry prices, while many investors have stayed on the sidelines in recent years amid elevated interest rates and intense competition.

Yet the hunt for the next property hotspot never stops. It might not have the glamour of Bondi or Byron Bay. Still, a number of pockets within Australia’s largest capital cities are outperforming the broader market — and they’re attracting growing attention from buyers and investors alike.

We’ve looked at the best-performing SA4 regions from property data analytics firm Cotality.

Brisbane

Brisbane has been the strongest capital city property market over the last two years. The market has been supercharged by the announcement of the 2032 Brisbane Summer Olympics, but the market has been on fire since 2020, when there was an exodus from the southern states to the Sunshine States, which drove Brisbane to Australia’s second most expensive capital city.

Over the last 12 months, Brisbane dwelling values have risen by 7.3%, only bettered by growth in Darwin. There are some pockets around the city which have outperformed the market. The top five SA4s (regions) are:

Nundah (North)
Median value $988,394
Annual change +11.8%
Ipswich Hinterland (Ipswich)
Median $790,119
Annual +10.7%.
Redcliffe (Moreton Bay – North)
Median $903,286
Annual +10.0%.
Caboolture Hinterland (Moreton Bay – North)
Median $888,571
Annual +10.0%.
Ipswich Inner (Ipswich)
Median $726,560
Annual +9.9%.

Brisbane is not only posting solid citywide gains, but the strongest pockets are outside the CBD. Growth is concentrated in Moreton Bay, Ipswich and northern corridors (Nundah/Redcliffe). That pattern points to ongoing demand for more affordable family housing and lifestyle submarkets within commuting distance of the city.

Melbourne

Melbourne has been the polar opposite to Brisbane in the last few years. It has been one of the worst-performing property markets, slipping to the sixth most expensive capital city in the rankings with a median dwelling value of $803,000. Only Hobart and Darwin media dwelling values are lower.

Dwelling values are only up 0.5% year to date; however, 2025 has been more positive since the RBA started cutting rates. Dwelling values are up 2.4% year to date, and growth is becoming more consistent, something which Melbourne has struggled with since being the most locked-down city in the world during the pandemic. Struggling to respond from then.

There have been some pockets, however, where growth has been stronger over the last 12 months. The top five SA4 regions have been:

Frankston (Mornington Peninsula)
Median $793,152
Annual +6.0%.
Tullamarine–Broadmeadows (North West)
Median $709,167
Annual +5.0%.
Knox (Outer East)
Median $942,980
Annual +4.5%.
Dandenong (South East)
Median $757,195,
Annual +3.8%.
Sunbury (North West)
Median $694,151
Annual +3.8%.
These top performers show growth focused on middle-ring and growth-corridor suburbs (Mornington Peninsula, northwest and outer east). For Melbourne readers, the implication is that recovery is geographically uneven — steady gains in commuter and lifestyle belts rather than a broad inner-city surge.

Sydney

Sydney, Australia’s most expensive capital, sits somewhere between Brisbane and Melbourne in its performance. The Harbour Capital is often the most impacted during a downturn, given the relative affordability of Sydney compared to the other capital cities. But then when there are good times, Sydney usually is the strongest beneficiary.

Dwelling prices are 2.6% up year to date, but the house market is largely outstripping the unit growth. Houses were up 0.8% in April, the strongest performing capital city house market on the eastern seaboard.

Sydney’s best-performing regions have been found well outside of the postcard suburbs Sydney is known for. The five best-performing SA4s in Greater Sydney by 12-month growth are:

St Marys (Outer West & Blue Mountains)
Median $1,024,688
Annual +7.4%.
Fairfield (South West)
Median $1,189,601
Annual +7.0%.
Liverpool (South West)
Median $1,123,438
Annual +6.8%.
Richmond–Windsor (Outer West & Blue Mountains)
Median $945,556
Annual +6.7%.
Bankstown (Inner South West)
Median $1,408,088
Annual +6.6%.
Sydney’s strongest performers are dominated by the western and south-western corridors — affordable family suburbs and growth-area precincts where demand and price momentum remain strong. The much larger median values in some of these SA4s also show that even within growth suburbs, prices are high relative to national benchmarks.

Australia’s major CBD office markets are recording some of their strongest rental growth since the pandemic, with businesses increasingly prioritising premium office space despite elevated geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Knight Frank’s Australian Office Indicators Q1 2026 report found net effective rents in Sydney and Melbourne CBDs rose at their fastest annual pace since COVID-19, increasing 10.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively over the 12 months to March.

Brisbane posted the strongest growth nationally, with net effective rents climbing 11.7 per cent over the same period.

The report points to a widening divide between prime CBD office towers and secondary office stock, as occupiers increasingly focus on quality, location and workplace amenity when making leasing decisions.

Knight Frank Senior Economist, Research & Consulting Alistair Read said demand remained heavily concentrated in premium assets within core CBD precincts, helping drive stronger rental growth in top-tier buildings.

“Occupier demand continues to be heavily concentrated in the most desirable CBD precincts and the highest-quality buildings, accelerating a sharp divergence between core and non-core markets,” Mr Read said.

According to the report, Sydney’s Core precinct and Melbourne’s Eastern Core significantly outperformed broader CBD markets over the past year.

“In Sydney’s Core precinct and Melbourne’s Eastern Core, net effective rents surged 14.3% and 16.1% over the past year, significantly outperforming the rest-of-CBD precincts,” Mr Read said.

The rental gap between prime and non-prime office locations has also continued to widen sharply.

“As a result, core CBD rents are now 54% higher than non-core locations in Sydney and 93% higher in Melbourne, highlighting the growing premium placed on amenity, accessibility and workplace quality,” he said.

Knight Frank said the strong rental growth across the major CBDs was being underpinned by a limited supply pipeline, with few new office developments expected to be delivered in the near term.

Mr Read said subdued construction activity was likely to support ongoing rental growth and tighter vacancy rates over the medium term, particularly for premium office towers.

“The combination of sustained demand and declining levels of new development will aid ongoing prime rental growth and lower vacancy rates over the medium term, particularly for best-in-class assets,” he said.

The report noted that current economic conditions were making new office developments increasingly difficult to justify financially.

“Economic rents remain well above expected market rents, making the construction of new office towers largely unviable, and concentrating tenant demand into existing buildings,” Mr Read said.

While suburban office markets generally remained subdued compared with CBDs, Melbourne’s Southbank precinct was identified as a relative outperformer, recording annual net effective rental growth of 2.7 per cent.

The report comes as broader Asia-Pacific office markets continue to stabilise following several years of disruption linked to hybrid work trends, inflation and rising interest rates.

Knight Frank’s separate Asia-Pacific Q1 2026 Office Highlights report found Sydney and Brisbane were among the strongest-performing office rental markets in the region, behind only Bengaluru and Tokyo for annual prime net face rental growth.

The Asia-Pacific report also found 18 of the 24 cities monitored across the region recorded stable or increasing rents in the first quarter of 2026, even as geopolitical uncertainty intensified following escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Where to Invest in 2025: Top-Performing Suburbs in Australia’s Property Market

Australia’s market is on the move again, and not always where you’d expect. We’ve found the surprise suburbs where prices are climbing fastest.

Brisbane

Melbourne

Sydney

Office rents in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are climbing at their fastest pace since the pandemic as tenants compete for premium CBD space amid tightening supply.