Property investors on the hunt for their next deal are in luck, as some of Australia’s sharpest real estate minds reveal their top investor-friendly locations for 2026.
Forty-nine suburbs out of the 100 shortlisted for the latest realestate.com.au Hot 100 were selected for their investment prospects.
Property investors typically look for a home in a good location that can attract reliable tenants, generate steady rental income, and grow in value over time.
However, investors can have different goals depending on their situation, with some focused on earning steady rental income while others prioritise making money from the property increasing in value over time.
To find the best properties and locations to invest in, investors usually look at things like house and unit prices, rental yields, vacancy rates and other factors.
| Suburb | State | Median house price | Median unit price |
| Bonython | ACT | $880,000 | $708,000 |
| Denman Prospect | ACT | $1,289,000 | $585,000 |
| Austral | NSW | $1,018,000 | |
| Box Hill | NSW | $1,297,000 | |
| Broadmeadow | NSW | $983,000 | $750,000 |
| Charlestown | NSW | $985,000 | $690,000 |
| Five Dock | NSW | $2,826,000 | $1,148,000 |
| Redfern | NSW | $1,975,000 | $1,203,000 |
| Rosebery | NSW | $2,445,000 | $915,000 |
| Sans Souci | NSW | $2,700,000 | $1,125,000 |
| Silverdale | NSW | $1,292,000 | |
| St Marys | NSW | $1,058,000 | $691,000 |
| Wallacia | NSW | $1,113,000 | |
| Wyoming | NSW | $930,000 | $628,000 |
| Zetland | NSW | $1,990,000 | $962,000 |
| Millner | NT | $610,000 | $350,000 |
| Parap | NT | $880,000 | $404,000 |
| Rapid Creek | NT | $763,000 | $440,000 |
| Zuccoli | NT | $590,000 | $453,000 |
| Bray Park | QLD | $864,000 | |
| Bundaberg West | QLD | $543,000 | $450,000 |
| Griffin | QLD | $888,000 | $658,000 |
| Herston | QLD | $770,000 | |
| Logan Central | QLD | $734,000 | $425,000 |
| Lowood | QLD | $681,000 | |
| Petrie | QLD | $900,000 | $600,000 |
| Plainland | QLD | $787,000 | |
| Brooklyn Park | SA | $990,000 | $465,000 |
| Murray Bridge | SA | $545,000 | $403,000 |
| Port Adelaide | SA | $719,000 | $603,000 |
| Renmark | SA | $436,000 | |
| Acton | TAS | $411,000 | |
| Battery Point | TAS | $1,588,000 | $750,000 |
| Brighton | TAS | $600,000 | $485,000 |
| Invermay | TAS | $470,000 | |
| Kingston | TAS | $739,000 | $620,000 |
| Legana | TAS | $698,000 | $558,000 |
| Ararat | VIC | $390,000 | $270,000 |
| Brunswick West | VIC | $1,313,000 | $490,000 |
| Carisbrook | VIC | $495,000 | |
| Clyde North | VIC | $740,000 | |
| Grovedale | VIC | $682,000 | $508,000 |
| Lalor | VIC | $756,000 | $565,000 |
| Oakleigh | VIC | $1,366,000 | $573,000 |
| Ringwood East | VIC | $1,062,000 | $725,000 |
| Albany | WA | $903,000 | |
| Baldivis | WA | $710,000 | $558,000 |
| Carlisle | WA | $900,000 | $783,000 |
| Rockingham | WA | $760,000 | $485,000 |
This year’s investor-friendly shortlist is made up of places with different strengths, such as strong rental demand, good price growth potential, and relatively affordable entry prices.
Here’s a snapshot of the 49 suburbs on this year’s Hot 100 that were nominated for their investment prospects, among other growth drivers. The following data is taken from the 12-months to November 2025.
Ararat in regional Victoria had the cheapest median house price at $390,000, the only suburb offering budget-sensitive investors a chance to snag a whole house for less than $400,000.
Cheaper home prices can attract property investors because they lower the upfront cost and can make it easier to earn solid returns over time.
Acton, Renmark, Invermay and Carisbrook also had house prices under $500,000.
Ararat also had the cheapest median unit price on the investor-friendly shortlist, coming in at $270,000. Millner in the Northern Territory had a median unit price of $350,000, the only other location to have a unit price under the $400,000 mark. However, investors who could stretch to $500,000 had a dozen options to choose from.
At the other end, Five Dock in Sydney had the priciest median house price on the list at $2.826 million. Sans Souci and Rosebery in Sydney also joined Five Dock with house prices above $2 million.
Sydney’s Redfern had the most expensive units, with a median price of $1.203 million. Five Dock and Sans Souci in NSW also had unit prices above $1 million.
Lowood in Queensland had the biggest 12-month house price gains, rising 23% year-on-year (YOY) to $681,000.
Property investors care about rising property values because it helps them build wealth over time, but it can also signal rising demand for locations that may also appeal to renters.
Wallacia in outer Sydney and Carlisle in Perth also posted yearly house price gains above 20%.
For units, Port Adelaide in Adelaide recorded strong unit price growth, up 45% YOY. Petrie, Carlisle, Baldivis, Brooklyn Park and Logan Central proved to be unit winners too, with annual median price growth of more than 20%.
Investors shopping for house bargains can look to Carisbrook in regional Victoria, where the median house price was 20% lower YOY to $495,000. Zetland in Sydney had the next sharpest house price fall, down 8%.
Investors watch falling property values closely because they can signal risks, but if rental demand is still strong, they may also see it as a chance to buy at a lower price.
Ararat unit prices fell the most from the list on the unit side, down 11% YOY. Zuccoli in the NT and Zetland followed, with annual unit price declines of 9% and 8%, respectively.
Rising rents increase the amount of income a property can generate, meaning stronger cash flows and better returns for property investors.
Battery Point in Hobart recorded the biggest annual rise in house rents, up 29% to $825 per week. The next biggest jumps in house rents were found in Silverdale ($800/week) in NSW and Bonython ($720/week) in the ACT, up 11% YOY.
On the unit side, the biggest annual rent rises were found in Petrie ($508/week) in Brisbane and Battery Point ($575/week), both increasing 13% during the year. Following on from them were Legana in regional Tasmania ($520/week) and Wyoming in NSW ($520), where unit rents rose 11%.
Rental yield is the amount of money a property earns in rent each year compared to its purchase price, and higher rental yields usually attract property investors because they can suggest better cash flows and stronger returns on their investment.
The NT took out the biggest rental yields for both houses and units from this year’s list. Zuccoli in the NT recorded the highest house rental yield at 7.2%, with a median house price of $590,000 and weekly rent at $750.
For units, Millner in the NT held the strongest unit rental yield at 7.3%, giving investors a median weekly rent of $500 while average unit prices sat at $350,000. Rapid Creek, Parap and Zuccoli – all from the NT – posted unit rental yields above 6%.
The suburbs with the tightest rental vacancy rates for houses were Brunswick West in Melbourne and Charlestown in NSW, both sitting extremely low at 0.7%. Bray Park (0.9%) in Brisbane also recorded a vacancy rate below 1%.
Investors pay attention to a suburb’s rental vacancy rate, which is the percentage of rental properties in an area that are empty at a given time.
Lower vacancy rates usually attract investors because they suggest strong demand and a lower risk of losing rental income.
Griffin in Brisbane and Five Dock had the tightest unit markets from the investor-friendly locations this year, with a unit vacancy rate of 0.8%. They were followed by Redfern (0.9%).
The Hot 100 is a list compiled by a panel of property experts, including heads of national real estate agencies, buyer’s agents, investors and others, as having the best growth prospects in 2026.
Suburbs are selected based on several growth drivers, including investment prospects, that should not only support home values in the year ahead but see prices outperform against the broader market.
Suburbs are nominated based on the following growth drivers:
