It’s a little-known coastal town with the hottest local market in the country

The satellite town less than an hour from Perth has quickly risen through the ranks to become the country’s hottest property market.

Mandurah has seen home values ​​rise dramatically over the past few years, and experts say several factors suggest the relatively unknown regional city will continue to do well in the coming years.

In the 12 months to February, property prices in Mandurah fell by 22.2% – more than double the national growth rate of 9.1%.

That puts it ahead of other hot markets, including Perth’s out fringe, Ipswich and Toowoomba on the outskirts of Brisbane, WA’s Wheat Belt region, and parts of regional Queensland.

These pockets – defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as SA4 regions – are generally larger than a local government area and have a population of between 100,000 and 500,000.

Breaking it down this way, it provides somewhat of a heat map of current hotspots – more granular than major cities and the entire province, and broader than suburbs.

Jump ahead to see the best places to go in Mandurah.

Mandurah is home to over 100,000 people, making it the largest regional city in Western Australia. Home prices have doubled in the past five years, jumping from $404,000 in December 2015 to $800,000 by the end of 2025.

But five years ago – as seen across Western Australia – home values ​​were trading sideways.

The rapid pace of price growth since Covid is due to a number of factors, but real estate agents consistently point to a lack of housing on the market as a major driver.

Across Perth, the number of active property listings has almost halved compared to pre-pandemic levels, and the rate at which new homes are being built is not keeping pace with population growth.

Young people’s predictions suggest that this problem will not go away anytime soon.

Already the fastest growing region, Center for Population projections show that Western Australia is expected to add 584,000 people to its population over the next decade – the fastest growth rate in the country at around 1.5% per annum.

Sadly, about 80% of the population is expected to be concentrated in Perth.

This is important because as buyers find value in inner-city areas, areas that offer accessibility without compromising lifestyle are in high demand.

This is already playing out in south-east Queensland – with suburbs such as Ipswich, Toowoomba and Moreton Bay on the rise as buyers seek detached homes within commuting distance of the capital.

Detached houses on large blocks near the beach, such as 29 Gray Road, are selling for less than $850,000. Photo: realestate.com.au

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As for Mandurah, about half of its people work within the city, while the other half commute to other areas – mainly Perth.

With a median home price of $800,000, the city is considered more affordable than Perth, where the average property costs just $1 million.

Mandurah has also been identified for several years as Australia’s best place to live for its lifestyle and tourism offering. With a harbor twice the size of Sydney Harbour, the city was designed to live by the water.

It has also been named by three different property experts in the 2025 realestate.com.au Hot 100 list – which identifies areas with the best prospects for performance in the coming year.

Top 10 places in Mandurah in the last 12 months

But with prices doubling in just five years, whether the current pace of price growth can be sustained is another question.

After such a rise in house prices in recent years, affordability has fallen and the prospect of further price rises in 2026 will see this worsen.

According to the latest PropTrack Market Outlook report, the WA capital is expected to continue its performance over the next year, but with price growth slowing from the strongest pace recorded in 2024 and 2025.