Growing demand for units is driving strong price growth, with PropTrack figures showing increases of nearly $500,000 in some markets in the past three years.

The majority of unit markets to record significant gains are in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, although the top location for growth is beachside Cottesloe in Perth, where median unit prices increased $490,000 over three years.

Noosa Heads’ median unit price is up nearly $450,000 over the same period, while Bilinga on the Gold Coast is up $425,000. In New South Wales, the top performer is Little Bay, which is $420,000 higher and in Adelaide, it is Findon, where the median unit price is up by $306,000. Melbourne, Darwin and Hobart did not have any entries in the Top 20 list. REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty says the strong unit price growth in southeast Queensland is largely a result of surging population growth and a shortage of housing supply.

“Investors are being drawn to the fact that there are still strong prospects for capital growth (in units),” she says. Hotspotting analysis shows that the once-dominant paradigm of real estate, that houses on land show superior capital growth to apartments, is no longer the case.