Four states home to property hotspots

Gosford topped the ranking, with houses enjoying 17.6 per cent median price growth in 2015 and the rental yield currently sitting at 4.5 per cent.

Onthehouse Data analyst Eliza Owen said suburbs within Gosford enjoy a spillover of wealth from Sydney in the form of residential investment and tourism.

“Despite enormous growth in 2015, regional NSW tends to lag a little behind Sydney. This is supported by historical growth patterns, therefore growth could continue into 2016,” she said.

Lake Macquarie placed second on the list, with house prices growing 8.1 per cent last year and house yields now reaching 4.8 per cent.

“The area contains suburbs with very affordable dwellings, some with strong rental yields,” Ms Owen said.

“For owner-occupiers, the area is popular with retirees and has a growing health care sector to support quality of life.”

The number three spot was filled by Newcastle, which has house price growth of 5.2 per cent and a yield of 4.7 per cent.

Ms Owen said Newcastle has undergone tremendous development in the last few years and could achieve further growth if it receives a planned influx of Syrian refugees.

Shellharbour came fourth, with house prices growing at 13.5 per cent and house yields at 4.8 per cent.

This market is also set to benefit from the Sydney wealth spillover, she said.

Whittlesea in Melbourne placed fifth, with capital gains running at 7.4 per cent and yields at 4.2 per cent.

Ms Owen said that as population growth remains high over the next decade, anywhere within reasonable distance and commute time to the CBD is likely to experience long-term growth.

The sixth and seventh spots on the list were filled by Brisbane and Logan, a local government area on the fringes of Brisbane.

The list was rounded out by Hobart in eighth, the Gold Coast in ninth and the Sunshine Coast in 10th place.

[Related: Strongest growth suburbs in every state revealed]