Darwin is a market that has been an exceptionally poor performer over the last decade. Darwins real dwelling value has actually fallen by 29% since 2013 according to Core Logic. It has done that poorly that it is affecting the median house price of Australia negatively.
The reason why Darwin has been such a poor performer is that it has a very low population growth rate. In fact, in recent times that population growth has actually been negative.
Property is just like any other asset that we want to invest in. It is all based around supply and demand. If you have an increase in Demand and decrease in Supply this will equate to a price increase. Population growth is your demand in property. The more people that are wanting to live in an area means more houses are needed. If Supply is not keeping up, then prices will increase.
People will only move to an area when they have work as everyone has to make a living. In Darwin’s case, there is no new job creation. This is the reason why it is doing so poorly.
When you are building your property portfolio bear this in mind. While it may be ok to own one property in Darwin, I would be sticking mainly to your 3 major capitals. Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. That is where the jobs are.