It's no secret that Australians consider their homes their castle, but which of the country's suburbs are considered hot property?
Money Magazine has released a list of the best suburbs to buy in right now and editor Effie Zahos joined TODAY with the details.
Western Australia
Rocking ham
2012 in Perth will be the market's strongest year since 2007 and Rockingham
City in the far south will be an overachiever. It remains one of the most affordable areas of Perth despite having one of the strongest capital growth rates over the past 10 years. This is a seaside municipality with good road and rail links to both the Perth CBD to the north and the lifestyle precincts such as Mandurah to the south.
Median price: $385,000
Queensland
Bowen
Bowen is a typical regional centre of coastal Queensland, with a strong agricultural economy and tourism industry. The special extra element is the Abbot Point coal export terminal. This is undergoing expansion which will give it three terminals, but the state government announced late in 2011 a "super-sizing" of the port, with six more terminals to be added in a $9 billion expansion. Bowen, where the median house price is $335,000 and the long-term growth average is 15% a year, has a massive future.
Median price: $335,000
New South Wales
Muswellbrook
The Hunter Valley was one of the standout economies in NSW in 2011, thriving from infrastructure and real estate development against the general national trend. Muswellbrook sits at the nerve centre of diverse industries, including horse breeding, vineyards, coalmining, power generation and tourism. It's affordable, with a median house price under $300,000, and its rental yields are strong.
Median price: $285,000
South Australia
Whyalla
The regional city performs the same role for South Australia that Gladstone does for Queensland and Newcastle for NSW. Among the projects in prospect are a $1 billion rare earths processing plant, a $600 million export port (in addition to existing facilities at Port Bonython), a $700 million desalination plant and pipeline to service the Olympic Dam expansion project, a $350 million ammonium nitrate plant and OneSteel's $350 million Project Magnet expansion.
Median price: $220,000
Victoria
Geelong
Greater Geelong has a bright future as an affordable alternative to Melbourne. The city median is generally $120,000 lower than that of Melbourne and it offers a water-based lifestyle and strong job prospects. Transport infrastructure is the key. The port is set to grow through plans to transfer the car import-export trade from Melbourne and the $4 billion Regional Rail Link will bring big benefits.
Median price: $385,000
