Free market report · Data to July 2026
Hilltops property market
Hilltops is one of the 453 council areas we track on the Momentum Dial, our property clock. This page is the plain-numbers read: where it sits in the cycle, who lives there, what's being built, and the suburbs inside it.
Hilltops is home to 19,347 people. On the Buyers First Momentum Dial its house market currently reads at Peak, while units read Rising. Same council, different clocks, which is exactly why we track them separately. Here's the rest of the picture, in plain numbers.
Houses · cycle position
Peak
The Hilltops house market is growing at its fastest pace in the current cycle. That is a momentum reading, not a crash call: markets can sit at peak growth for a long time before easing.
-11% to +18%
Modelled 12-month price range
0.0%
Modelled 12-month rent change
Units · cycle position
Rising
The unit market is accelerating. Growth is building pace rather than fading, which is the phase most investors wish they had caught in hindsight.
-17% to +19%
Modelled 12-month price range
+0.1%
Modelled 12-month rent change
At a glance · houses
$498,762
Typical house, August 2026
+5.4% a year since 2010
+6.9%
Growth a year, last 10 years
+5.9% a year over the last 5
$472
Rent a week
4.9% gross yield
2 of 15
Years prices fell since 2010
Worst: 2012, -4%
The clock measures growth momentum, not price. Peak means growing fastest, not about to fall. Cycle data and projections sourced from HtAG Analytics. See Hilltops on the clock.
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Want all of this written up for Hilltops?
The full report is this data as a written document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Hilltops, and the numbers that cut against the area. I write them by hand, so it comes from me rather than out of a system.
The numbers, explained
Hilltops in charts.
The typical house in Hilltops went from $208,621 in 2010 to $498,762 in August 2026. That is +139% in total, +5.4% a year. 2 down years out of 15, never more than 1 in a row. Cycles, not collapses.
Houses · price change each year · 2011 to 2026
Prices in Hilltops fell in 2 of the last 15 years
+139%
Since 2010
+6.9%
Per year, last 10 years
2 of 15
Years going backwards
-4.1%
Worst year (2012)
What this shows. How much the typical house price in Hilltops went up or down each year. Teal bars are up years, red bars are down years, and the faded bar is this year so far.
Why it matters. The size of a good year matters less than how many bad years there were and whether they came in a row. Boring? Absolutely. But the length of the down stretch is what decides whether you get out the other side. Typical price at December each year, data from HtAG Analytics.
You don't need to know property to read this. Every chart below opens with the point in one line, then says what it shows and why we care. Teal is a good sign, amber is okay, red means watch it.
The scorecard · 7 things we check
Hilltops scores 24 out of 35. Solid.
prices are rising as fast as they will this cycle, so the easy money has been made
2 of 15 years
0.7 new homes approved per 100 that exist
population growing 0.1% a year
3.5% unemployed, Australia 4.2%
a house costs 6.9 years of a local household's income
0.9% of rentals are empty, so about 1 in every 100
What this shows. Seven quick checks on Hilltops, each scored out of five. Five is the reading we most want to see.
Why it matters. No single number tells you whether an area is a good buy. Together they show whether the pieces line up. These are bands, not rules: a council outside a band can still be the right buy for the right person, and one inside every band can still be wrong for you.
House prices since 2010 · Hilltops vs the 5 most similar councils in NSW
Hilltops has grown in step with similar councils over ten years
+5.9% vs +9.3%
A year, last 5 years
+6.9% vs +6.8%
A year, last 10 years
+5.1% vs +6.2%
A year, last 15 years
What this shows. The typical house price in Hilltops every year, in teal, next to the middle of the five councils in NSW closest to it in size and starting price: Inverell, Lithgow, Yass Valley, Nambucca Valley, Broken Hill. The small "vs" number in each tile is those councils.
Why it matters. Growth here is the regional story rather than a local one. Nothing wrong with that, it just means you are buying the region.
Momentum · the last 36 months
Prices in Hilltops are picking up speed right now
$497,361
3-month price, August 2026
+1.7%
3-month price vs 12-month price
443 vs 457
Houses sold, last 12 months vs the 12 before
What this shows. Two versions of the same price. The dotted teal line averages the last three months, so it reacts fast. The grey line averages the last twelve, so it moves slowly. The bars are how many houses sold each month.
Why it matters. The last three months are running ahead of the last twelve. That is what speeding up looks like before it shows in the yearly number.
New homes · approvals as a share of all the homes here
Not many new homes are being built in Hilltops
What this shows. For every 100 homes already in Hilltops, how many new ones the council approved each year. The teal band is the range we call balanced.
Why it matters. Fewer new homes means the ones that exist stay in demand. It can also mean building here is hard or slow, which cuts the same way. The home count is the population divided by the average household size, so treat the rate as a guide rather than a census.
Affordability · house price in years of local household income
A house in Hilltops costs 6.9 years of a local family's income
What this shows. Take the typical house price and divide it by what a typical household here earns in a year. A bar of 7 means seven years of the whole household's income buys one house.
Why it matters. Stretched, which is where most of the country sits now. Growth from here leans on rising incomes and buyers coming in from outside the area. Income is the 2021 Census figure carried forward at 3.5% a year, so it is an estimate, not a measurement.
Rents · typical weekly house rent, last 36 months · and how many rentals sit empty
Rent in Hilltops is $472 a week, up 7.8% in a year
$472
A week, August 2026
+7.8%
Change in the last year
0.9%
Rentals sitting empty (tight)
What this shows. What a typical house in Hilltops rents for each week, month by month. The empty-rentals number is the share of rental homes with nobody in them: under 1.5% is tight, over 3% means tenants have plenty of choice.
Why it matters. Rents rising faster than inflation means more people want to live here than there are homes to rent. That pressure eventually shows up in prices.
Rental yield · a year of rent as a share of the price, Hilltops vs similar councils
Rent covers 4.9% of the price each year in Hilltops
What this shows. Yield is simple: a whole year of rent divided by the house price. A $500,000 house renting for $500 a week earns $26,000 a year, which is a 5.2% yield.
Why it matters. Higher than similar councils, which are around 4.2%. The rent does more of the heavy lifting here, so holding costs less out of pocket. We don't buy on yield alone and we never set a yield cut-off; it is one piece of the picture, next to growth.
The people
Who lives in Hilltops.
Population growth has been close to flat over the last five years, +0.1% a year. Interesting mix underneath: locals have been leaving on net (-181 over three years) while overseas migration more than filled the gap (194). Worth understanding who is arriving and what housing they need. The median age is 45 and the median household brings in $1,175 a week (Census 2021). 70% of households own or are paying off their home. Owner-occupier markets like this tend to hold their nerve through the cycle, because nobody is forced to sell an address they live at.
Population · ABS estimates 2015 to 2025
Hilltops has stopped growing: 19,347 people, +0.1% a year
19,347
People, 2025
+0.1% vs +0.6%
A year, last 5 years · typical NSW council
+0.3%
A year, last 10 years
Why it matters. With few new arrivals, demand here comes from locals moving house, not from growth. Prices can still rise, but they lean on other drivers.
Where the growth came from · last 3 years
Overseas arrivals are doing the heavy lifting in Hilltops: 194 in three years
Net change: +61 people over three years.
What this shows. Three ways a place gains or loses people: babies born minus people who died, people who moved here from another part of Australia, and people who arrived from overseas. Bars to the right add people, bars to the left take them away.
Why it matters. Overseas arrivals usually rent first, so this kind of growth shows up in rents before it shows up in prices.
Age and households · Census 2021
Hilltops is older than the typical NSW council: median age 45 vs 42
Hilltops Typical NSW council (middle of 122)
Why it matters. An older area leans on retirees and downsizers. Single-level homes near health services do best, and turnover tends to be lower.
Income and who owns the homes · Census 2021
Most homes in Hilltops are owner-occupied: 70% own or are paying off, 23% rent
Own or paying off Renting Other
Why it matters. Owner-occupier markets hold their nerve through the cycle, because nobody is forced to sell the address they live at.
New supply
What's being approved to build.
56 dwellings were approved in FY26, 52 of them houses. Approvals have been roughly steady year to year. On the non-residential side, $18 million of building was approved in FY26, $3 million of it public money. Governments build where they expect people. Within that, $8 million of education and health buildings have been approved across the last three financial years. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal governments give about where they expect families.
Homes approved · ABS, by financial year
Not much new is being built in Hilltops: 56 homes approved in FY26
Houses Units, townhouses and other
56
Homes approved, FY26
93%
Of them houses
0.7%
New homes per 100 that exist
What this shows. How many new homes the council approved each financial year, split into houses and everything else. Approved is not built, but it is the earliest warning of supply on the way.
Why it matters. When little gets built, the homes already here do not have much competition. Good for prices, as long as people keep arriving.
Non-residential building approved · ABS
Government spending on buildings in Hilltops is rising: $3m approved in FY26
Government projects All non-residential
$18m
All sectors, FY26
$3m
Government, FY26
$8m
Schools and health, last 3 years
What this shows. The dollar value of shops, offices, schools, hospitals and other non-home buildings approved each year. The darker bar is the government's share.
Why it matters. Governments build where they expect people. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal they give about where families are heading. For the named projects behind these numbers, ask for the full report.
Jobs
Who's working in Hilltops.
Work here runs on agriculture (20% of jobs), ahead of health care and social assistance and retail trade. 442 more residents are in work than five years ago (+5.3%). Unemployment sits at 3.5%, comfortably under the national 4.2%.
Jobs · SALM, March 2026
442 more people in Hilltops have a job than five years ago
8,811
Residents in work
3.5% vs 4.2%
Unemployed · Australia
+5.3%
Jobs change, 5 years
Hilltops Australia
Why it matters. Strong jobs growth shows up in housing demand with a lag. People get the job first and buy the house a year or two later.
Who employs people here · Census 2021
Agriculture is the biggest employer in Hilltops, 20% of jobs
What this shows. The five industries that employ the most residents, as a share of all jobs. The pill is the ABS advantage score: Hilltops sits in decile 4 of 10 nationally, where 10 is the most advantaged.
Why it matters. A spread of employers means no single closure can empty the town. That is the kind of job base that holds house prices through a downturn.
The outlook
Is Hilltops worth buying into?
Put the drivers together and the case for Hilltops is: a job base that has expanded, public building spend trending up, new supply thinning out. None of this guarantees anything. It tells you where to look harder, which is what a report like this is for.
Free · Written by hand · One per person
This page is the public data. The full report is that written up as a document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Hilltops. One per person.
Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.
Inside the LGA
The suburbs of Hilltops.
Next step. See what's for sale in Young on realestate.com.au or Domain. Then send me the address before you make an offer. That is the part the data cannot do.
All 39 suburbs and localities in Hilltops
Barwang · Beggan Beggan · Bendick Murrell · Berremangra · Berthong · Boorowa · Bribbaree · Bulla Creek · Burrangong · Crowther · Cunningar · Frogmore · Galong · Godfreys Creek · Harden · Hovells Creek · Jugiong · Kikiamah · Kingsvale · Koorawatha · Maimuru · McMahons Reef · Memagong · Milvale · Monteagle · Mount Collins · Murringo · Murrumburrah · Nubba · Reids Flat · Rugby · Rye Park · Taylors Flat · Thuddungra · Tubbul · Weedallion · Wirrimah · Wombat · Young
Free · Written by hand · One per person
Want the full workup on Hilltops?
This page is the public data. The full report is the written workup: current price, rent, gross yield and vacancy, growth over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years, days on market and demand, and the supply coming down the pipe, for Hilltops or any suburb in it. Same data we run for clients. I pull it and email it through, usually within a business day. One per person, no charge, and no 14-part email sequence afterwards. All I ask is that if it lands, you take the fifteen minute call at the end of it.
Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.
Keep comparing
Markets of a similar size in NSW.
A council only makes sense in context. These are the NSW markets closest to Hilltops in population, each with its own written report.
General information only, not financial or investment advice. Cycle positions and projections are modelled LGA-level figures to July 2026, sourced from HtAG Analytics. Population and approvals are ABS estimates; employment is SALM smoothed data; income, age and tenure are Census 2021. None of it can see street quality, flood maps, zoning or the contract, which is where deals are actually won and lost. Get advice on your own situation before acting.
Data finds the area. It doesn't buy the house.
We narrow 15,000 suburbs to the top 5 for each client, then find the street and the property. If Hilltops is on your list, that's a conversation worth having early.