Australia’s biggest losers

Queensland's prominent tourist areas, including the Sunshine Coast, Cairns and the Gold Coast, are home to some of the country’s worst recent performing suburbs in both the unit and the house market, posting 12-month price falls of below -25%, according to RP Data.

A case in point is the Gold Coast’s Mermaid Beach, where the median price of houses has slipped -36% in the 12 months up to January. This is a fall equating to over $300,000. Other Gold Coast suburbs that experienced massive price falls on houses include Bundall, where over $180,000 has been shaved off of median prices.

The worst performing location on the list is Carey Bay, a suburb of Lake Macquarie, NSW. Thanks to -43% price falls, the suburb’s January 2012 median house price is lower than the median price at the start of 2010.

Golden Beach, Vic – within the Gippsland region and some 250km from Melbourne – has endured a similar fate, posting 12-month falls of -41%. In Golden Beach’s case, the negative growth of houses has been an established trend and prices have been falling dramatically in the last five years.

Like the housing market, the worst performers in the unit market are dominated by Queensland suburbs, which feature six of the top 10 suburbs where prices have been knocked back by more than -25%.

Including NSW, SA, WA and ACT, which each feature a top 10 suburb, the majority of worst performers are within small, regional towns where tourism has a major impact on the economy.    

WORST 12-MONTH PERFORMERS, HOUSES

 Source: RP Data, Jan 2012

WORST 12-MONTH PERFORMERS, UNITS

 Source: RP Data, Jan 2012

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