Suburbs in the CBD lead property price growth

According to research from PRDnationwide, suburbs located close to the city CBD are leading property price growth. The research has shown that suburbs in the inner city in Queensland and Victoria were the first to show signs of price recovery in the 12 months to March 2010.

The suburbs with the biggest growth in property prices were within 10km of the CBD in Melbourne and 17km of Brisbane's CBD.

A survey conducted by PRDnationwide also showed that homeowners did not want to deal with a long commute and preferred to live in close proximity to their offices.

The survey found that 58% of homeowners would be willing to drive up to 30 minutes to and from work each day, but only 1% of respondents would be willing to drive for more than one hour in one direction.

Only 18% of respondents would be willing to spend 10 minutes or less getting to work, while a quarter (23%) would be happy for it to take 30-60 minutes in one direction.

The report found that the suburb Kew, in Melbourne, registered a 52.8% increase in property price growth, while Brisbane's highest price performer was Ascot, which was up an "astonishing" 64.1%, according to the real estate group.

South Yarra recorded the second highest price growth in Melbourne, at 47.2%, followed by Albert Park (42.6%) and Canterbury (42%).

In Brisbane, St Lucia recorded the second highest price growth of 59.6%, followed by Hawthorne (34.6%).