Over the year to June 2026, the typical affordable or mid-priced suburb grew close to twice as fast as the most expensive homes. Here is what the year actually shows.
By Luke Metcalfe · Founder, Microburbs ResearchWe put a price on 8,377 suburbs around the country, and we do it again every week. Type in a suburb and you will see what a typical home there is worth now, how that moved over the past year, and how it compares with the rest of the market.
You keep reading that house prices are softening. But that story is mostly about the most expensive homes. At the more affordable end, the year to June 2026 looked very different, and you might be talking yourself out of a market that is still working.
Deep dive: see the full analysis in our research paper →
The market has split in two. Over the year to June 2026 the affordable and middle of the market grew close to twice as fast as the most expensive homes. The growth did not disappear. It moved down-market. We track each suburb's own price over the year, so we are comparing the same places from start to finish.
What this means for your money: over the past year the stronger, steadier capital growth has been at the affordable and mid-priced end, not the top. This is not one week's noise. Across thousands of suburbs the affordable end finished the year clearly ahead, and we checked it several independent ways before publishing. One honest note: in the last few weeks the typical suburb barely moved either way, so the year is the signal, not the last fortnight.
Deep dive: see the full analysis in our research paper →
For example, here are two real homes at the affordable end. These are longer holds, not the past year, and they show that the same end of the market has rewarded owners for years, the end that led again over the past year. They make it concrete, they are not the whole list.
Over the year to June 2026 this suburb ran 8.6 points ahead of the typical Australian suburb, 20.0% against 11.4%. The typical home here went from about $495,000 to about $594,000.
One home there: 1 Erica Avenue sold for $499,000 in 2025, about $224,000 more than the owner paid 10 years earlier. That gain is 10 years of holding, not this year, and is here to put a real address behind the suburb.
Over the year to June 2026 this suburb ran 9.1 points ahead of the typical Australian suburb, 20.5% against 11.4%. The typical home here went from about $706,000 to about $851,000.
One home there: 95 Cheriton Avenue sold for $675,000 in 2025, about $376,000 more than the owner paid 6 years earlier. That gain is 6 years of holding, not this year, and is here to put a real address behind the suburb.
Deep dive: see the full analysis in our research paper →
What this means for your money: before you act on any suburb, check whether its year-long trend is real and where it sits in the market. Check your suburb's results →
Deep dive: see the full analysis in our research paper →
Microburbs tracks Australian house prices every week, right across the country, to June 2026. We track each suburb's own price over the year, and correct the glitches that can make a tiny, low-turnover suburb look like it jumped. The figures come from what homes are being asked for, not from a register of completed sales, so treat them as an early read on direction. Data as at 28 June 2026. Read the full research paper →
The split above is the national picture. Your suburb has its own 12-month trend, and it is the one that decides whether any of this applies to you.
