Proptrack research puts Geraldton suburbs of Rangeway and Spalding in national price growth list for 2024

Two battler Geraldton suburbs have experienced a “Cinderella” year in the property market, winding up in the top three of a national list for suburbs boasting the highest price growth in 2024. Rangeway was listed No. 1 nationally for price growth, after house prices surged by a whopping 47.6 per cent last year. The latest data from Proptrack shows after the recent surge, the median house price in Rangeway sits at $267,000 — almost a third of the cost of a typical home in Perth. Spalding also made the list at No.3, with an annual growth increase of 39 per cent and a median house price of $332,000. It comes after $9 million revitalisation of the suburb has seen AMC Park, social housing and other infrastructure upgraded. David Potiuch, director and sales executive for Geraldton Property Group, said the increase was due to Eastern States investors looking for cheap properties with strong rent returns. “Investors from all over Australia are seeing properties on full-sized blocks with three bedrooms and it’s attractive because they know they will get an excellent rent return for the price they pay,” he said. He said the amount of people looking to purchase a home for personal use in Geraldton had also increased. “I’ve been selling for 20 years and I’ve never seen such a strong buyer’s agent presence. Agents are seeing a lot of suitable options in Geraldton for their clients,” he said. Mr Potiuch believed the age of technology played a big role in rural and remote city real estate. “It’s quite easy to get a lot of information through the internet,” he said. “There’s a lot of information on previous sales history for the area and for any particular property. “If you have a computer and an internet connection, you can purchase a home in Geraldton from anywhere in the State without knowing much about the city.” In 2023, Proptrack named Rangeway Australia’s cheapest suburb, drawing in investors and homeowners alike to the City of Greater Geraldton. As the city’s housing and rental vacancy rates continue to drop, areas like Rangeway and Spalding could continue to see price growth increases making it more expensive and competitive to find a property. Suburbs in the far north Queensland city of Townsville dominated the Proptrack top 10 list, while the only other WA suburb to make the cut was Midvale in Perth’s foothills. In another top 10 property list, three Geraldton suburbs and a Mid West town are listed as having some of the strongest annual price growth in regional WA. According to a Real Estate Institute of WA, Rangeway again came out on top with a 46.1 per cent jump, followed by Port Denison in third (up 36.8 per cent), Utakarra in fourth (up 35.2 per cent) and Spalding in 10th (up 30 per cent).