Byron’s big rise to top

BYRON Bay has snatched the title of Australia’s most expensive city from Sydney, according to new data.

The coastal town is not only home to celebrity heart-throb Chris Hemsworth but the country’s highest median house price at just under $1 million.

The Propertyology report found Byron thumped Sydney, with a median house price of $987,500 as of December 2018.

The Gold Coast also featured on the national top 40 list with a $632,500 median house price, ranked 14th most expensive, behind Tweed with a $650,000 median.

Propertyology head of research Simon Pressley said house prices at Byron Bay were likely to continue to rise.

“Byron’s median house price increased by a whopping 64 per cent over the past five calendar years,” he said. “Sydney and Melbourne both produced a 44 per cent increase over five years to be $950,000 and $772,500, respectively.”

Byron Bay’s median house price was just $140,000 in 1998, with its growth put down to location and a laid-back lifestyle.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland Gold Coast chairman Andrew Henderson said Byron’s rise might be thanks to celebrity residents. The Gold Coast’s median house price jumped 12.5 per cent in the past three years. In 1998 its median house price was just $185,000.