South-eastern Narre Warren North recorded the largest jump, up 38.4 per cent to the end of December, to a median of $1,693,000 on Domain data. It was followed by growth suburb Aintree (up 34.8 per cent to $755,000) and inner-eastern Balwyn North (33.4 per cent to $2,375,000).

Unit prices grew the most in Mitcham, where they jumped 21.3 per cent over the five years to $752,000. It was followed by Highett (19.6 per cent to $658,000) and Brighton (17.9 per cent to $1.2 million).

Melbourne’s overall median house price rose 22.1 per cent in the same period. Although it remains below its peak, the market has somewhat improved in recent weeks as clearance rates point to modest price rises and home buyers show renewed activity in expectation of a Reserve Bank rate cut later in the year.

The analysis excludes the Mornington Peninsula, but growth was even stronger in popular sea-change destinations that swelled during lockdowns such as Blairgowrie, Sorrento and Rye, which were up 66.3 per cent, 52.9 per cent and 52.8 per cent, respectively.

KPMG planning and infrastructure economics director Terry Rawnsley said strong results in suburbs further from the city reflected entrenched affordability issues and lockdown-era preferences for larger homes.

“There’s definitely a ripple effect coming through those middle-ring suburbs,” he said. “They’ve been priced out of the [more inner] inner suburbs and are heading out along the train lines by a couple of stops.

“There’s definitely places in the middle-ring suburbs where people wanted to get out of the inner city. The two-bedroom townhouse was less appealing than the detached four-bedroom house.”

Narre Warren North in particular reflected this trend; recent buyer Edward Hao said he saw great value in the leafy suburb.

“I moved from Bentleigh East … we loved [Narre Warren North] because the price is affordable. When you pay the same price you can’t buy your dream house anywhere in Melbourne, but you can buy your dream house there,” he said. “We love the animals, you can see kangaroos. The mountains are visible and there’s no traffic.

“We never asked our friends to come [visit in Bentleigh East] because the streets are too narrow, and the streets are packed up. There’s no room for them to come and park.”

Belle Property Berwick director Anne Haynes sold Hao his new home in Fontaine Terrace, Narre Warren North for $3,388,888. She said other buyers were replicating Hao’s move out from smaller inner suburbs.

“We’re getting international buyers, but we’re also getting buyers from inner suburbs, say Bentleigh, Oakleigh, and everywhere in between who are living on cramped smaller blocks,” she said. “If you move out to Narre Warren North, it’s tranquil and peaceful.”

Haynes said a diverse mix of properties meant buyers of most budgets had options in the acreage suburb.

Ray White Berwick director Debbie Brettoner said it had also benefited from the opening of a new mosque which had proved attractive to the Islamic community.

“The mosque has brought a lot of people out of Dandenong and Hallam, and they want the bigger blocks of land, closer to the mosque,” she said. “And then COVID. People said, ‘I can work from home, I want the peace and tranquillity of the big block’.”

Brettoner said it was common for homeowners to try to stay in the area after selling.

“I sold a house for someone who looked to see if they could find something for 12 months,” she said. Those buyers ended up buying in nearby Berwick after giving up on their first choice of suburb, Brettoner said.

Rawnsley said a strong five-year result in a growth suburb like Aintree reflected a maturing of a greenfield market, as developers began shifting away from building entry-level homes to cater for local upgraders.

“The suburbs out towards Melton is reflecting a fuller build out of the community,” he said. “As those markets pick up [developers] try to pick up the margins a bit.”

Harcourts West Realty listing agent Matthew Farrugia said newer stages of the suburb’s development that were more expensive had been popular with previously entry-level buyers.

Farrugia said the opening of a new private school had also proved to be a drawcard, even drawing interest from overseas.

“There’s a fair bit of multicultural people there. It’s a very strong Indian community,” he said. “A lot of [growth] came once the school [Bacchus Marsh Grammar] came through. It just boosted it by heaps and then the lockdown came through, it was like a double effect.”

Farrugia said properties tended to be larger to accommodate multigenerational families, which also kept prices high.

“If you drive through Aintree, they’re predominantly double-storey houses,” he said. “There’s a lot of million dollar homes there because they’re all big.”

In Leppington, a stone’s throw away from Sydney’s upcoming second airport, house prices more than doubled. The median of the fast-developing suburb jumped by 112.9 per cent to $1,162,500 in the five years ending December 2023 on Domain data.

A string of nearby suburbs also made it onto the top 20 list of the strongest growing suburbs in the same period, including Denham Court (up 66.7 per cent), Harrington Park (up 62.8 per cent) and Gledswood Hills (up 59.1 per cent).

Blue chip suburbs near beaches and in the inner city also recorded some of the strongest growth in Sydney in the past five years. Bronte jumped 78.2 per cent to a median of $5.8 million, Glebe grew 72.8 per cent to a median of $2.73 million and North Bondi increased 67 per cent to $4,275,000.

Sydney’s overall median house price has risen 49.5 per cent since December 2018.

St George chief economist Besa Deda said Sydney house price growth would likely continue in the next year, albeit at a slower pace.

“During COVID, the Reserve Bank cut back to a historically low level and that did encourage economic activity and buyer activity, particularly once we reopened the economy and borders,” Deda said.

This was happening against a backdrop of lower building approvals and less housing construction – all pointing to a chronic shortage of homes in the face of ongoing demand.

“There’s a housing shortage. There is a very large increase in the population that’s coming through, and the labour markets remain tight as well. That is helping support dwelling prices,” she said.

While Deda expects house price growth to continue, it will slow down thanks to higher interest rates, which has stretched affordability.

“We expect price growth to continue in Sydney but not at the same pace as last year. The rate of growth would moderate,” she said, adding that rate cuts would contribute to fresh pressures.

North Bondi sellers Yvonne Strasser and Cary Fraser hope to capitalise on the house price growth of the suburb to downsize in the postcode they bought into in 2018.

“We’ve done a renovation on the property and the home is beautiful. We absolutely love the home. Once you’re up in the tree house, you’re away from everything and feel like you’re on holiday,” Strasser said. “Hopefully, we can capitalise on the growth and stay in North Bondi.”

She said the suburb was perhaps once undervalued and has only burgeoned in recent years.

“Before it could maybe be seen as a little bit rundown, but now it’s becoming a bit more gentrified,” she said.

“With all of the new developments, not necessarily the houses, but just places to go, even down the promenade. They’re doing the pavilion up. They’re making it more of an area people want to go to, it’s brought more people to the area.”

Their selling agent Warren Ginsburg of Ray White Double Bay, who is guiding $6 million on the North Bondi property, said blue chip suburbs soared to new heights during COVID.

“It’s due to people wanting better lifestyles, they want proximity to beaches and to cafes and restaurants,” Ginsburg said.

He said young families, successful business owners and cashed-up downsizers were propelling house price growth in the eastern suburbs.

“It’s definitely young families who have had success in business in the past few years and are upgrading and there are a lot of downsizers who have sold their properties for significantly more than they expected are now downsizing into that market and are cashed up and driving the prices up.”

Ginsburg said these areas will continue to rise as the combination of lifestyle and proximity to amenities remains desirable.

Meanwhile, house prices in far-flung suburbs on the outskirts of the city recorded impressive jumps in the past five years due to their relative affordability, as many sit well below the citywide median of $1,595,310, as well as their proximity to fast-growing infrastructure and amenities.

“Denham Court, Gledswood Hills. They’re all within a kilometre radius of Leppington. We’ve got the railway station, you’ve got the airport coming. You can see that being built, and it’s a realisation,” said Michael Cavagnino of LJ Hooker Leppington.

“It’s all about accessibility and affordability. We’ve had a lot of people moving out from the inner suburbs because the station is there as well as the flexible working arrangements.

“We’re finding a lot of first home buyers and people who are upsizing are driving the growth,” he said, as well as investors. “Leppington as well is the strategic centre of the south-west. I can see it being like Parramatta, like Sydney’s third city.”

“If words like ‘kidults’ and ‘boomerang children’ are increasingly popping up in your conversations, it’s because kids are living at home for longer,” explains Domain Property Editor, Alice Stolz, on Today.

A study from the Melbourne Institute on household dynamics shows that almost a third of 26- to 29-year-olds were living at home in 2021, a significant shift from 2001.

“It really is based around the fact that house prices have doubled in some parts of the country and the time to save a deposit has increased so much and is much harder,” Stolz explains.

Domain data shows that in Sydney, the 20 per cent deposit required to buy a property has more than doubled between 2013 and 2023, from $151,000 to $319,000, with hopefuls needing an extra $168,000 to add to the honey pot – with wages failing to keep up with soaring house prices.

In Melbourne, that figure was $114,000 in 2013 and now sits at $209,000 as of December 2023.

Since 2012 to 2023, average wages rose about 30 per cent, on ABS data. Dwelling prices across the capital cities have jumped close to 90 per cent.

“Often, moving home rent free or even paying a lodging amount to parents [makes it] so much easier to get that deposit than having to pay rent at the same time,” says Stolz.

A new report has also found stamp duty is costing buyers over five times more than what it did just one generation ago.

For those able, choosing to remain in the family home can be the opportunity needed to crack into an increasingly aggressive housing market.

But Stolz advises on how to keep things harmonious for everyone involved, especially mum and dad.

“Many people can actually enjoy this unexpected bonus time, but I do think boundaries are required. So for adult kids doing this, you can’t behave like a 13-year-old, you need to chip in and contribute, and have an egalitarian household.”

This includes not treating the home like a hotel, contributing to household needs whether that be through chores or some money towards utilities or groceries, and being disciplined about savings goals.

Parents are encouraged to respect boundaries and split household chores.

“It’s a rare chance to live rent free, so make the most of it,” confirms Stolz.

“For parents, you’re giving your child a priceless chance to get a really big headstart in life, so be really proud of what you’re doing for your child.”

Further confirming the property market is strong despite inflation and mortgage hikes, auction clearance rates for last weekend’s Super Saturday were robust, with 70 per cent clearance in Adelaide, 67 per cent in Sydney, 62 per cent in Melbourne, 52 per cent in Canberra and 49 per cent in Brisbane.

In other housing news, the final Block house of Leah and Ash for $3.125 million, after famously passing in at the auctions last year.

Domain exclusively revealed a deal was inked last Thursday evening after a bidding war for the property broke out between two buyers, one of whom is understood to have been a high-profile celebrity.

“It went to a buyer who is apparently based in Malaysia,” says Stolz. “This made Leah and Ash come third in the final Block auction order, so it goes to show good things come to those who wait and if you pass in it doesn’t always mean you’re not going to make some money.”