The decline in house prices experienced in 2022 pales in comparison to the surge experienced during the pandemic when interest rates hit record lows. Over the last decade, prices have increased in almost every suburb, with some tripling.
Australian homeowners’ fortunes have increased significantly over the past decade. Since 2013, Australian house prices have increased by an average of 83%.
Rural areas saw a 92% increase in prices compared to the metropolitan area where prices increased by 80% over the same decade.
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There are many factors that have contributed to this extraordinary value growth.
The first is the steady decline in cash rates.
The cash rate has been declining since 2013, hitting an all-time low of 0.1% in November 2020.
The impact was particularly pronounced in the second half of 2020 and into 2021, when demand for homes was strong and home prices rose by a record 22%.
The second factor is continued population growth and land scarcity, especially in suburban areas closer to the city centre.
With limited space to build homes near the massive CBD, surrounding suburban home prices have skyrocketed, making them out of reach for many Australians.
As a result, many people are relocating to regions and smaller capitals, causing significant increases in prices in these areas.
Byron Bay homes have seen the most price increases in the last decade.
These trends, which have been happening for some time, were greatly accelerated by the pandemic when working from home became more normalized.
To better understand which suburbs have been most impacted by the aforementioned factors, we looked at the suburbs that saw the biggest increase in house prices over the past decade.
Suburbs with the fastest growth in home prices over the past decade
| Suburbs | state | Median Current Selling Price | 10 year growth rate |
| Byron Bay | New South Wales | $3,000,000 | 362% |
| bright | Big | $1,293,000 | 257% |
| suffolk park | New South Wales | $2,101,000 | 256% |
| berry | New South Wales | $2,100,000 | 256% |
| Kingscliff | New South Wales | $2,005,000 | 237% |
| Buddina | queensland | $1,650,000 | 235% |
| balladoo | New South Wales | $2,900,000 | 233% |
| Narawari | New South Wales | $1,149,000 | 228% |
| Copacabana | New South Wales | $1,930,000 | 222% |
| Glenory | New South Wales | $2,800,000 | 220% |
Byron Bay leads the way in home price growth, with a median increase of 362% since March 2013.
Homes in Bright, Suffolk Park and Bury were also in high demand, with prices increasing about 3.6 times over the same period.
Kingscliff and Burradoo are also among the suburbs where home prices have risen the most.
Suburbs with the fastest 10-year unit price growth
| Suburbs | state | Median Current Selling Price | 10 year growth rate |
| noosa heads | queensland | $1,885,000 | 279% |
| Jindabyne | New South Wales | $756,000 | 260% |
| Currumbin Waters | queensland | $735,000 | 161% |
| Kingscliff | New South Wales | $863,000 | 159% |
| Ettalong Beach | New South Wales | $830,000 | 159% |
| sunshine beach | queensland | $1,413,000 | 159% |
| Byron Bay | New South Wales | $1,200,000 | 159% |
| edge cliff | New South Wales | $1,550,000 | 158% |
| palm beach | queensland | $800,000 | 152% |
| manly | New South Wales | $1,850,000 | 152% |
For units, Noosa Heads and Jindabyne lead the pack in price growth, with median increases of 279% and 260%, respectively.
Units at Currumbin Waters and Ettalong Beach have also seen significant price increases, up 2.6x from 10 years ago.
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Both residential and unit, the majority of these top-growth suburbs are located in rural areas, indicating that the pandemic is causing an urban-to-rural exodus.
After falling for much of 2022, prices have rebounded slightly in recent months as demand continues to outpace new supply of homes on the market.