If your clients are eyeing Melbourne's Mont Albert or Sydney's Dulwich Hill, they may be waiting a long time. Fresh PropTrack data analysed by realestate.com.au reveals that average hold times in Australia's most sought-after suburbs now stretch well beyond 20 years — and the forces keeping owners in place are getting stronger, not weaker.
Melbourne's Clarinda tops the national list for houses, with owners holding on for an average of 23 years. Nearby Mont Albert follows at 21 years.
Local agent and auctioneer Tim Heavyside puts it simply: "It's a suburb that a lot of people aspire to live in, and a place where people find their forever home."
Family buyers tend to stay throughout the schooling years and well beyond, Heavyside adds — with some owners clocking 40, 50, or even 60 years in the same home.
In Sydney, inner and middle-ring suburbs tell the same story, with Dulwich Hill and Hurlstone Park both averaging around 20 years.
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty (pictured) says the pattern is consistent across the country's most tightly held markets.
"Suburbs that meet the needs of people at different life stages are likely to have a longer hold period," Flaherty said — covering everyone from young families chasing school catchments to downsizers who have simply stopped needing to move.
Stamp duty is a major part of what makes moving so unattractive once owners are in.
"In more expensive suburbs, the stamp duty cost is so much higher that you have a much greater incentive to hold that property for longer, because it's a big financial penalty every time you move," Flaherty said.
A standard purchase at around Sydney's current median dwelling value attracts approximately $36,000–$37,000 in transfer duty under current NSW rates — before conveyancing, inspections, or moving costs.
The same reluctance to sell runs through the unit market. Waverton and Cremorne Point on Sydney's lower north shore both average 17 to 18 years, while East Melbourne, Middle Park, and Black Rock all sit at around 16 years — a consistent pattern across dwelling types in inner-city locations.
For brokers with investor clients, the outlook for stock release just got more complicated. Budget changes announced on 12 May are set to push holding periods even longer for existing owners — and reshape the calculus entirely for new investors in established properties.
Flaherty flags the grandfathering provisions as a particularly strong lock-in signal.
"It's a very strong incentive for current property owners to not sell that property so they have the option of grandfathering benefits," she said.
The new CGT treatment also increases the effective tax on gains for those who do sell, further strengthening the case for holding.
Under the 2026–27 Federal Budget, negative gearing on established properties purchased after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 will be abolished from 1 July 2027. Existing investors are fully grandfathered; new builds remain exempt, with investors able to choose between the existing 50% CGT discount or the new indexation model at sale. The measure is not yet law.
The supply picture in established middle-ring suburbs is not going to fix itself. Some previously tightly held markets — St Johns Park in western Sydney (down 34%), Mount Gravatt in Brisbane (down 29%) — have seen hold times ease, so pockets of movement do exist for clients who know where to look.
For buyers priced out of established markets, outer-ring suburbs such as Thornhill Park in Melbourne and Nirimba on the Sunshine Coast continue to see faster turnover, with first-home buyers using them as a first rung on the ladder. Infrastructure is the variable to watch.
As local agent Adeel Obaid of Area Specialist Melton noted: "Once the amenities are there and freeway access is improved, people will stay longer." When they do, values tend to follow.
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