Tightly Held Properties: +2.3% Extra Growth Per Year
Suburbs where more than 95% of homes are owner-occupied grow 2.3% per year faster than suburbs below 82%. That is extra growth, on top of whatever the market does.
This is one of several threshold indices in the Microburbs research programme.
What Is the Tightly Held Threshold?
When homeowners live in their properties long-term, the suburb becomes tightly held. Fewer properties come to market. Each sale draws more competition. Prices reflect genuine demand rather than investor churn.
The opposite also holds. Suburbs with a high rental proportion see more turnover, more listings, and weaker price signals. Investor-heavy suburbs face selling pressure when rates rise or yields compress.
This threshold measures the share of homes that are owner-occupied. Above 95% signals a tightly held suburb. Below 82% signals a suburb with significant rental stock and higher turnover.
The pattern is intuitive and the data backs it up. Across 124,051 sales from 2021 to 2023, tightly held suburbs outperformed by 2.3 percentage points per year.
Three Performance Zones
The model splits suburbs into three tiers based on their owner-occupancy rate. Each tier shows a distinct growth pattern.
Owner-occupier suburbs grow 1.06% faster than the market. High-rental suburbs trail by 1.25%. The gap is 2.31 percentage points per year.
Performance Over Time
The chart below tracks the 2-year annualised growth rate for the above-threshold suburbs and below-threshold suburbs. The above-threshold suburbs (blue) sit above the below-threshold suburbs (red) in the vast majority of months.
Consistency Across 24 Sample Dates
We tested the signal at 24 different points in time between July 2021 and September 2023. The top tier outperformed at 23 of those 24 dates.
| Date | Extra Growth (2yr) |
|---|---|
| 2021-07 | +1.53% |
| 2021-08 | +1.58% |
| 2021-09 | +1.57% |
| 2021-10 | +1.63% |
| 2021-11 | +1.67% |
| 2021-12 | +1.71% |
| 2022-01 | +1.66% |
| 2022-02 | +1.59% |
| 2022-03 | +1.49% |
| 2022-04 | +1.40% |
| 2022-05 | +1.26% |
| 2022-06 | +1.15% |
| 2022-07 | +1.03% |
| 2022-08 | +0.92% |
| 2022-09 | +0.80% |
| 2022-10 | +0.61% |
| 2022-11 | +0.50% |
| 2022-12 | +0.41% |
| 2023-01 | +0.36% |
| 2023-02 | +0.33% |
| 2023-03 | +0.38% |
| 2023-04 | +0.41% |
| 2023-05 | +0.44% |
| 2023-09 | -1.07% |
Geographic Breakdown
The signal works across most Australian regions. Positive spread means the signal works as expected.
Full Regional Table
All growth rates are annualised over 2 years, measured 2021 to 2023.
| Region | Spread | Sales Tested |
|---|---|---|
| Rest of Vic. | +3.33% | 8,204 |
| Greater Perth | +2.39% | 2,823 |
| Rest of WA | +1.73% | 3,829 |
| Greater Adelaide | +1.58% | 4,135 |
| Greater Brisbane | +1.38% | 6,395 |
| Greater Melbourne | +1.31% | 6,466 |
| Rest of Qld | +0.84% | 13,013 |
| Rest of SA | +0.43% | 3,180 |
| Rest of NSW | +0.35% | 9,275 |
| ACT | -0.13% | 553 |
| Greater Sydney | -1.06% | 6,471 |
Is This Pattern Real?
We tested this rigorously. The pattern of +2.31% spread was confirmed by testing across 124,051 sales over a 2-year rolling window.
This is a real signal, not a crystal ball. Many factors drive property prices, from interest rates to local infrastructure to supply constraints. Across this data, the pattern holds with strong consistency.
The signal worked at 23 of 24 different time periods. It held in 9 of 11 geographic regions. The t-statistic of 46.27 is far beyond the threshold for statistical significance. These results point to a genuine, repeatable pattern.
Want the Full Statistical Detail?
The Technical Whitepaper covers p-values, t-test methodology, and the full date-by-date and region-by-region breakdown.
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