Your Investment Property’s Annual Suburbs Guide has released its in depth ranking of the Top 100 property markets for 2014.

Chosen from the more than 15,000 suburbs in Australia, the Your Investment Property Top 100 is the pre-eminent guide to property investment markets in Australia.   

The ranking is the result of months of research and data collection, with Your Investment Property consulting property analysts, real estate agents, economists, statisticians and experts in the property industry to draw a picture of where Australia’s best property markets are going to be.

The rankings formula

Your Investment Property started by canvasing Australia’s top property market analysts for their top picks for markets forecast to perform strongly over the immediate and distant future.

Your Investment Property then compared these forecasts with past sales data, supply and demand indicators and its own research and findings and began a national hunt for the number one property market in the country.

All research and analysis focused on core issues such as:

Tenant demand: Each suburb had to pass the criterion of being a desirable place to live, one where a large and diverse tenant base would put long-term demand on accommodation.

The local economy: Top 100 candidates had to have a growing economy and one that would support wages growth and relatively high disposable incomes. The rationale was that property markets backed by sound economics had the best price and rent growth potential.

Capital growth potential: Markets with the most potential to grow were ranked highest. Potential took into account past property cycles, current buyer sentiment, supply and demand issues and the strength of the local economy.

Significant changes: Markets were ranked highly if there were a number of changes in effect – or in the pipeline – that would bring more people into the area and push up demand for properties. These included improvements to infrastructure, gentrification and urban renewal initiatives.

Demographics: Suburbs were ranked higher if they had a growing population placing increasing and continuing demand on the housing market. Suburbs where the average household income of residents was increasing also scored highly.

Affordability: Suburbs with competitive prices, either for the base of people they appeal to or compared with neighbouring areas with a similar offering, ranked highly.

Which area was ranked number 1? Find out in Your Investment Property’s January issue, available in newsagents across the country.