Which regions have the most sales in your state?

Australia’s municipalities are a diverse lot; they range in size from the Shire of East Pilbara which covers 372,000 square kilometres (an area larger than Victoria and about equal to the total land mass of Japan) to the Peppermint Grove Shire Council which covers just one square kilometre and is Australia’s smallest council region. The size of the council has no real bearing on the size of the property market. East Pilbara, for example, despite being the largest administrative region in Australia, recorded just five house sales over the last 12 months.

Each council does, however, have very different property markets and policies regarding how property is governed. Rates and charges vary significantly from council to council, property investors are often treated differently to owner-occupiers and development rules are far from consistent between councils. For those considering purchasing in any area around Australia it is important to understand these nuances before making a decision.

In terms of capital growth, there has been a varied performance across Australia’s regions. Most property owners hold their asset for longer than five years, so we have included the five year and 10 year annualised change in median house prices as part of our analysis.

Over the longer term it is difficult to find an area that has recorded a decline in prices. Regions in New South Wales are the exception over the last five years due to the soft property market conditions that have existed.

The largest municipal property markets (based on the number of house sales) are located in South East Queensland where the council areas are larger than average. Brisbane, Moreton, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Logan have recorded the highest volume of house sales over the last year compared to all council regions around the nation. These regions alone account for 13.3% of house sales nationally and 15.3% of the value of house sales nationally.

The largest municipality in Australia, based on the number of houses transacted over the last year, is the capital of Queensland: Brisbane. 4,160 houses sold over the last year within the boundary of Brisbane City Council equating to 5.1% of all house sales throughout Australia. The large number of sales is partly due to Brisbane’s large area – just over 1,300 square kilometres. Brisbane’s median house price has increased at the rate of 11.5% per annum over the last 10 years providing above average returns for property owners.

Looking at the costs of detached housing in each council region, the most expensive municipalities are found in the inner city and coastal regions of Perth and Sydney.

Perth’s Cottesloe is the most expensive: across 77 house sales recorded last year the Cottesloe region is showing a median house price of $2 million; slightly higher than Sydney’s Mosman at $1.92 million. The Cottesloe council region is one of Australia’s smallest in area at just 3.9 square kilometres with 4 kilometres of ocean frontage and comprising just one suburb (Cottesloe).

At the other end of the spectrum are the most affordable municipalities around Australia. These regions tend to contrast massive land areas with very small populations. The economies are largely based on agriculture, grazing or mining. Land supply in these regions is plentiful and population’s are generally in decline.

The Central Darling Shire Council is the most affordable based on a median house price of just $39,000. The region covers 53,000 square kilometres and has a population of just 2,000 residents.

Tim Lawless is the Director of Property Research at RP Data.