These red-hot property markets have already recorded double-digit price growth over the past year, and property experts say there’s no slowing down in 2026.
There are many factors that make a suburb ‘hot’ – supply and demand imbalances, amenity, school zones, a new train line, or perhaps it’s more affordable than the next neighbourhood.
The annual realestate.com.au Hot 100 aims to highlight 100 suburbs (out of more than 15,000 nationwide) with the best real estate prospects in the year ahead.
Nominated by some of the country’s leading property experts, the list includes plenty of underdog suburbs set to benefit from rezoning decisions, new infrastructure or a changing demographic.
But it’s not all about the turnaround story - 13 of the Hot 100 suburbs for 2026 are located within Australia’s hottest property markets of the past 12 months, suggesting these locations will continue to outperform for some time.
According to PropTrack, pockets of Perth, Brisbane and regional Queensland have dominated the top ten highest growth regions over the year to November.
These areas, defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, include Perth’s outer fringe suburbs to the north and south, regional Queensland, and Ipswich and Toowoomba in outer Brisbane.
In recent months, Perth’s north east region has overtaken Townsville to become the hottest property market in the country.
Property prices in this Perth pocket have surged 17.4% over the past year - just slightly ahead of Townsville’s 17.2% annual price growth.
One Hot 100 suburb that sits within this top performing region is Ellenbrook, located on the city’s northeastern fringe.
Nominated by LJ Hooker’s head of research Mathew Tiller, Ellenbrook is considered affordable by Perth standards – the median house price is $725,000, far lower than the capital city median of $1,013,000, while a typical unit costs $480,000.
Despite already recording double-digit price growth this year, a recently completed rail extension now connects Ellenbrook to Perth’s CBD in about 30 minutes.
The masterplanned suburb already had schools, shopping and community services – transport was the “missing piece” that will attract a new wave of buyers and investors.
Another key factor is supply. At the time of publication, there were 62 Ellenbrook properties listed for sale on realestate.com.au, 44 of those are marked as under offer.
Townsville has recently been knocked into second place in terms of annual price growth, though it’s still growing twice as fast as the national rate. According to Belinda Connor from Elders, investors will continue to underpin growth in the region in the year ahead.
Mackay is the third fastest growing region in the country with annual price growth of almost 17%, yet homes remain affordable. John McGrath nominated the regional city for its lifestyle appeal, infrastructure investment and "robust economy".
Further south there were several nominations in Brisbane’s Ipswich and Toowoomba regions with relatively affordable housing, strong jobs and population growth and Olympic tied infrastructure expected to continue underpinning demand.
The median house price in Lowood has jumped 23% in the past 12 months to $681,000, remaining well below the capital city median of $1.15m.
Nominated by REBAA Queensland state representative Melinda Granzien, Lowood’s tight rental conditions and new development activity will keep heat in the market over the short term, while a “clear demographic shift” will be a long-term growth driver as young families and tradies relocate from Brisbane and Ipswich.
Other suburbs in the Ispwich region to make the latest Hot 100 include Ripley and Plainland, and Highfields in Toowoomba.
Use the interactive map below to see which suburbs made the Hot 100.
Rounding out the top ten hottest markets in Australia include Perth's south east and west, and the north west pocket, with Carlisle, Alkimos, Nollamara, Applecross, Baldivis and Rockingham nominated as the suburbs to watch in these regions.
One key theme in these already-hot markets is that of relative affordability. Nationally, home prices have risen for 11 straight months and are sitting at record highs in most capital cities.
Factors such as expanded government support for first-home buyers will continue supporting the more affordable end of the market, and the return of investors means more buyers are competing over similar, entry-level properties.
But with speculation building that a rate hike could be just months away - NAB and CBA are both predicting the RBA will lift rates in February - caution will likely return to the market. On a national level, this is expected to see home price growth slow in 2026.
For those looking for the next hot suburb, fundamentals will be crucial over speculation. What do fundamentals look like? Suburbs in the Hot 100 are nominated based on nine key growth drivers:
These factors are not only expected to drive markets in the year ahead, but support price growth over the medium and long term.
