Which Sydney suburbs made it into the million-dollar market club in 2024?

A recent CoreLogic* report outlines the number of markets nationwide with a median house or unit value of at least one million dollars examining the yearly shift in the number of suburbs reaching this milestone.

In August 2024, the number of Australian suburbs with a median house or unit value exceeding $1 million reached a record high, with 29.3% of the 4,772 analysed suburbs achieving this milestone. This is an increase from 21.7% in January 2023, reflecting the market's recovery despite high interest rates and challenging economic conditions. The proportion of million-dollar suburbs now surpasses the previous peak seen in April 2022.

CoreLogic data indicates a 7.1% rise in national dwelling values over the past year, adding around $53,000 to the national median value. This increase has led to an 18.5% growth in the number of million-dollar markets, with 218 additional suburbs joining the club. Currently, 1,257 house markets and 140-unit markets in Australia have a median value of $1 million or more.

Nationally, the pace of property value growth has slowed recently, dropping from a 2.0% increase in the three months to April to 1.3% in the three months to August. Additionally, nearly 30% of suburbs are now seeing a quarterly decline in values, up from 19.3% in April. While growth is expected to slow further as the spring selling season approaches, overall values continue to rise.

The rise in million-dollar suburbs is a natural outcome of increasing property values and deteriorating affordability. However, higher mortgage rates mean buyers need significantly more income to service loans on million-dollar properties. For example, a household now requires an annual income close to $200,000 to comfortably afford a $1 million home, up from $125,000 before interest rate hikes.

Sydney continues to dominate the million-dollar market, with 39.7% of the country's suburbs in this category, seeing 448 house and 107-unit markets surpass the million-dollar threshold. Brisbane experienced a similar growth, with a 15% increase in dwelling values, while Perth saw 35 new entrants to the million-dollar club, although it still represents a smaller portion of the national total due to its lower starting point.

In contrast, Melbourne and regional Victoria have seen a slight decline in million-dollar markets, largely due to higher housing supply and tax policy changes. Although the pace of growth in Australia’s housing market has slowed, with an increase in the number of suburbs experiencing price declines, CoreLogic expects more suburbs to cross the million-dollar threshold in the coming months.

So which Sydney suburbs made it to the list this year?

Newcomers

Aside from Surry Hills and Menai the only two new suburbs of Sydney to make the lists for units, the vast majority of newcomers to this year’s list were houses in Blacktown, South West, Outer South West and Western suburbs of Sydney including Blacktown, Bargo, Spring Farm, Liverpool and St Clair.

Re-entrants

Suburbs re-entering the million-dollar club (those who recorded a median value of $1 million or more over the past 12 months and for 4 years prior) included units in Eastgardens, Erskineville, Rushcutters Bay, Waterloo, Kensington, Matraville, Dee Why, Woolooware and Manly Vale. Re-entrants with houses in the million-dollar median were mostly in the Outer West and South West of Sydney including Camden South, Glenfield, Canley Heights and several others.

Dropouts

Only two suburbs dropped off the million-dollar list in Sydney, North Willoughby and Warrawee. The median unit prices in these suburbs dropped to $985,998 and $938,427 respectively in the year up to August 2024.

*Source CoreLogic Report Million Dollar Markets September 2024