Hottest 100 affordable growth suburbs

First Home Buyer, Investment Property, Market Update

Shay Waraker

| January 21, 2026

- 5 min read

The property market has continued its accelerated growth with the national dwelling prices ending 2025 at $959,000. That is a 12% increase over the year. If you own property, this could be good news for you as you grow equity. If you don’t, it is raising the bar a little higher for the deposit you need and the size of the loan you will need.

The good news for people looking to buy their first or an investment property is there are still areas with affordable properties that are experiencing impressive growth. Growth means the property prices have increased, which is beneficial to the owner as they increase equity or can sell at a higher price than purchased.

Ray White has listed the hottest 100 affordable growth suburbs in Australia, looking exclusively at areas where the average property price is below $750,000.

How much deposit do I need?

The general rule of thumb is to save a deposit that is 20% of the value of the property to avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). For a property that is worth $750,000, that amount would be $150,000. However, if you are a first-home buyer and looking to live in the property, you may be able to purchase using a scheme or grant, such as the federal government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, where you could be eligible to purchase with as little as 5% of the property price without paying LMI. For a $750,000 property that amount would be $37,500.

If you’re not eligible for a scheme, you may be able to purchase with a deposit below 20%, but you may be required to pay LMI. Your broker can talk you through what this could look like to determine if it is a good strategy for you.

State	Area	Suburb	Average property price ($)	Average year growth (%)	Average 3-year growth (%)	20% deposit	5% deposit
WA	PERTH – SOUTH EAST	Armadale – Wungong – Brookdale	697000	20.55%	93.89%	139400	34850
WA	PERTH – SOUTH WEST	Calista	686000	21.21%	91.97%	137200	34300
WA	PERTH – SOUTH EAST	Camillo – Champion Lakes	717000	20.10%	90.83%	143400	35850
WA	PERTH – SOUTH WEST	Parmelia – Orelia	703000	20.44%	90.20%	140600	35150
WA	PERTH – SOUTH EAST	Gosnells	729000	20.66%	90.19%	145800	36450
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Heatley	576000	25.08%	89.33%	115200	28800
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Condon – Rasmussen	595000	24.81%	88.91%	119000	29750
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Gulliver – Currajong – Vincent	591000	24.88%	88.34%	118200	29550
WA	BUNBURY	Withers – Usher	614000	22.53%	87.75%	122800	30700
WA	BUNBURY	College Grove – Carey Park	607000	21.41%	87.59%	121400	30350
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Kirwan – East	618000	23.90%	87.35%	123600	30900
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Berserker	516000	22.97%	86.79%	103200	25800
WA	PERTH – SOUTH EAST	Kelmscott	722000	19.72%	86.49%	144400	36100
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Kelso	593000	23.76%	86.22%	118600	29650
WA	BUNBURY	Collie	479000	22.95%	84.33%	95800	23950
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Wulguru – Roseneath	613000	22.63%	83.57%	122600	30650
WA	PERTH – SOUTH WEST	Cooloongup	741000	19.26%	82.51%	148200	37050
WA	MANDURAH	Greenfields	700000	19.26%	81.61%	140000	35000
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Cranbrook	603000	23.05%	81.49%	120600	30150
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Gracemere	650000	21.22%	80.83%	130000	32500
SA	ADELAIDE – NORTH	Smithfield – Elizabeth North	620000	18.91%	80.56%	124000	31000
WA	BUNBURY	East Bunbury – Glen Iris	719000	20.02%	80.51%	143800	35950
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Lakes Creek	543000	22.30%	80.45%	108600	27150
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Aitkenvale	616000	23.53%	80.25%	123200	30800
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Park Avenue	549000	21.39%	80.06%	109800	27450
WA	MANDURAH	Mandurah	676000	20.75%	79.49%	135200	33800
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Mount Morgan	306000	21.18%	79.24%	61200	15300
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Deeragun – Jensen	641000	23.25%	77.82%	128200	32050
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Rockhampton City	389000	22.59%	77.01%	77800	19450
QLD	IPSWICH	Riverview	719000	20.67%	76.91%	143800	35950
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Rockhampton – West	598000	20.31%	76.86%	119600	29900
SA	ADELAIDE – NORTH	Elizabeth	669000	18.43%	76.42%	133800	33450
QLD	DARLING DOWNS – MARANOA	Millmerran	400000	21.75%	75.72%	80000	20000
WA	BUNBURY	Manjimup	501000	22.02%	74.73%	100200	25050
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Parkhurst – Kawana	664000	20.58%	74.54%	132800	33200
SA	BAROSSA – YORKE – MID NORTH	Peterborough – Mount Remarkable	275000	21.98%	74.27%	55000	13750
SA	ADELAIDE – NORTH	Davoren Park	655000	17.80%	74.11%	131000	32750
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – OUTBACK (SOUTH)	Geraldton – East	439000	22.53%	73.21%	87800	21950
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – WHEAT BELT	Plantagenet	490000	21.23%	73.07%	98000	24500
QLD	DARLING DOWNS – MARANOA	Wambo	489000	21.70%	72.98%	97800	24450
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – WHEAT BELT	Cunderdin	291000	22.35%	72.86%	58200	14550
WA	MANDURAH	Mandurah – South	738000	18.19%	72.63%	147600	36900
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Kirwan – West	680000	21.02%	72.55%	136000	34000
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	South Townsville – Railway Estate	651000	21.80%	72.19%	130200	32550
QLD	MACKAY – ISAAC – WHITSUNDAY	South Mackay	629000	20.98%	71.81%	125800	31450
SA	BAROSSA – YORKE – MID NORTH	Mallala	580000	18.55%	71.45%	116000	29000
QLD	MACKAY – ISAAC – WHITSUNDAY	North Mackay	610000	20.67%	71.41%	122000	30500
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Frenchville – Mount Archer	689000	19.74%	71.38%	137800	34450
QLD	TOOWOOMBA	Gatton	652000	19.37%	71.37%	130400	32600
WA	MANDURAH	Pinjarra	732000	18.90%	71.19%	146400	36600
SA	ADELAIDE – NORTH	Elizabeth East	693000	17.75%	71.09%	138600	34650
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Kin Kora – Sun Valley	584000	22.28%	70.88%	116800	29200
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Garbutt – West End	645000	21.67%	70.84%	129000	32250
QLD	DARLING DOWNS – MARANOA	Jondaryan	553000	19.32%	70.81%	110600	27650
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Burdell – Mount Low	746000	21.41%	70.36%	149200	37300
QLD	MACKAY – ISAAC – WHITSUNDAY	Slade Point	642000	20.29%	70.30%	128400	32100
QLD	WIDE BAY	Monto – Eidsvold	312000	19.46%	70.04%	62400	15600
WA	BUNBURY	Harvey	645000	19.74%	69.95%	129000	32250
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	West Gladstone	536000	22.15%	69.81%	107200	26800
QLD	WIDE BAY	Kingaroy Surrounds – North	415000	18.30%	69.45%	83000	20750
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Mount Louisa	707000	22.58%	69.29%	141400	35350
SA	BAROSSA – YORKE – MID NORTH	Port Pirie	334000	22.13%	69.20%	66800	16700
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Burdekin	337000	24.03%	68.60%	67400	16850
WA	BUNBURY	Waroona	617000	19.75%	68.31%	123400	30850
QLD	IPSWICH	Leichhardt – One Mile	722000	19.94%	68.24%	144400	36100
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Mundingburra	660000	21.09%	68.06%	132000	33000
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – OUTBACK (SOUTH)	Geraldton	524000	23.18%	67.85%	104800	26200
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – WHEAT BELT	Wagin	350000	22.67%	67.81%	70000	17500
QLD	WIDE BAY	Walkervale – Avenell Heights	620000	18.52%	67.62%	124000	31000
QLD	WIDE BAY	Svensson Heights – Norville	606000	18.53%	67.48%	121200	30300
QLD	WIDE BAY	Bundaberg	579000	18.46%	67.41%	115800	28950
QLD	MACKAY – ISAAC – WHITSUNDAY	Mackay	611000	22.63%	67.37%	122200	30550
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Ingham	344000	24.55%	67.18%	68800	17200
QLD	DARLING DOWNS – MARANOA	Clifton – Greenmount	555000	18.26%	66.85%	111000	27750
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – WHEAT BELT	Northam	506000	20.20%	66.47%	101200	25300
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Hermit Park – Rosslea	674000	19.77%	66.38%	134800	33700
SA	ADELAIDE – NORTH	Munno Para West – Angle Vale	730000	15.24%	66.36%	146000	36500
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – WHEAT BELT	Narrogin	371000	22.96%	66.32%	74200	18550
QLD	WIDE BAY	Gayndah – Mundubbera	374000	19.06%	66.20%	74800	18700
QLD	MACKAY – ISAAC – WHITSUNDAY	West Mackay	654000	19.75%	66.13%	130800	32700
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Hyde Park – Pimlico	649000	20.41%	66.06%	129800	32450
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – WHEAT BELT	Brookton	332000	21.31%	65.53%	66400	16600
SA	ADELAIDE – NORTH	Salisbury North	725000	16.33%	65.51%	145000	36250
SA	BAROSSA – YORKE – MID NORTH	Wakefield – Barunga West	446000	17.72%	65.51%	89200	22300
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Ayr	376000	23.23%	65.48%	75200	18800
QLD	IPSWICH	Lockyer Valley – East	731000	17.89%	65.31%	146200	36550
QLD	MACKAY – ISAAC – WHITSUNDAY	Andergrove – Beaconsfield	692000	19.37%	65.20%	138400	34600
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	The Range – Allenstown	617000	19.61%	65.15%	123400	30850
SA	BAROSSA – YORKE – MID NORTH	Wallaroo	579000	19.17%	64.76%	115800	28950
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Douglas	691000	20.99%	64.62%	138200	34550
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Telina – Toolooa	608000	20.24%	64.58%	121600	30400
QLD	IPSWICH	North Ipswich – Tivoli	744000	19.20%	64.25%	148800	37200
SA	BAROSSA – YORKE – MID NORTH	Kadina	517000	18.69%	64.24%	103400	25850
QLD	CENTRAL QUEENSLAND	Bouldercombe	606000	19.30%	64.13%	121200	30300
SA	BAROSSA – YORKE – MID NORTH	Gilbert Valley	520000	17.44%	64.10%	104000	26000
SA	SOUTH AUSTRALIA – SOUTH EAST	Murray Bridge	565000	16.00%	64.05%	113000	28250
QLD	TOWNSVILLE	Northern Beaches	624000	19.91%	64.04%	124800	31200
QLD	DARLING DOWNS – MARANOA	Pittsworth	632000	18.82%	63.93%	126400	31600
WA	WESTERN AUSTRALIA – OUTBACK (SOUTH)	Geraldton – South	680000	21.42%	63.87%	136000	34000
QLD	CAIRNS	White Rock	680000	19.17%	63.76%	136000	34000

Shay Waraker

Shay is the Content Manager at Loan Market and brings over a decade of experience in copywriting spanning Australia, the UK and Europe. Her furious fingers have typed content for Canstar, Lloyds Banking Group, Quest newspaper The Wynnum Herald, The Courier Mail and The Prague Post along with a large number of clients.