micromarkets

Micromarkets · Glossary

Property market & census terms, in plain English

Every metric used in Micromarkets suburb reports — market and demographic alike — defined the way we actually compute it. For the formulas and thresholds behind these terms, see the methodology.

89 terms · maintained by the Micromarkets Data Team

Browse by category

Market fundamentals · 11
Market speed & supply · 10
Ownership economics · 4
Rankings & comparisons · 7
People & age · 8
Households & families · 6
Housing & dwellings · 7
Income, work & education · 8
Culture, migration & diversity · 10
Mobility & transport · 3
Geography & data sources · 5
Data quality & safeguards · 10

Market fundamentals

Prices, rents, yields, volumes and the segment model.

All-bedrooms segment

The view of a suburb covering every bedroom count for a property type, computed from the full set of records rather than by averaging the per-bedroom segments.

Bedroom cohort

The bedroom count a segment is measured for: 1, 2, 3, 4, or all bedrooms. Metrics are never blended across cohorts.

Cohort medians (state / national)

The reference lines a segment is compared against: the median price, rent, yield, DOM and ownership premium across all qualifying segments of the same property type and bedroom cohort, computed per state and nationally. When a report says “above the NSW house median”, this is that median.

Gross rental yield

Annualised median rent divided by median sale price: (weekly rent × 52) ÷ price × 100. Gross — before costs, vacancy and tax.

Growth (year-on-year)

The percentage change of the current 12-month rolling window versus the 12 months immediately before it — applied to price, rent, volume and days on market.

Leased volume

The count of recorded leases in a segment over the trailing 12 months — the rental-side equivalent of sales volume.

Median price (12m)

The middle sale price over the trailing 12 months for the segment — half of sales were above it, half below. Medians resist distortion from a few extreme sales far better than averages.

Median weekly rent (12m)

The middle advertised weekly rent over the trailing 12 months for the segment.

Micro-market

A single suburb-level segment — one suburb, one property type, one bedroom cohort — treated as its own market with its own metrics, rather than averaged into city or region figures. The unit of analysis everything on Micromarkets is built around.

Sales volume

The count of recorded sales in a segment over the trailing 12 months. Doubles as the sample size behind that segment’s medians — which is why thin volumes suppress derived metrics.

Segment

The unit every metric is computed for: one suburb × one property type (house or unit) × one bedroom cohort (1, 2, 3, 4 or all).

Market speed & supply

How fast stock moves and how much of it there is.

Absorption rate

How quickly a market clears its stock: 12-month sales divided by listings currently available. Higher means demand is absorbing supply faster.

Balanced market

The middle supply band, where months of supply sits near the national norm — roughly 2.6–3.6 months for sales, 1.5–1.8 for rentals. Neither buyers/renters nor sellers/landlords hold a clear stock advantage.

Cycle phase

A five-way classification of where a segment sits in its demand cycle: in demand, growing (or tightening on the rental side), in demand, easing, softer, firming, and softer, weakening. Sales and rental sides are phased independently. See how phases are assigned.

Days on market (DOM)

The median number of days between a property being listed and selling (or leasing, for rental DOM). Lower means a faster market.

Listings available

Properties advertised for sale (or rent) in the segment as at the most recent complete month. The stock side of months of supply and absorption.

Market heat

The composite percentile shown in the ranking section — where a segment’s overall demand intensity sits among comparable segments in its state (or nationally), built from the velocity index. The single “how hot is this market” number.

Market velocity

A composite index of how quickly a segment’s stock sells (or leases) and how that pace is trending. Published as state and national percentile ranks rather than raw values, so houses are never ranked against units.

Months of supply

How long current stock would take to clear at the trailing 12-month pace of sales (or leases): listings ÷ (12-month transactions ÷ 12). Mapped to seven bands from severe shortage to saturated. See the thresholds.

Selling speed (percentile)

A percentile of how much faster the segment is selling than a year ago — ranked by the year-on-year change in DOM, where shedding days earns a higher percentile. The leasing-speed percentile is the rental-side twin.

Supply band

The plain-English label for months of supply — severe shortage, very tight, tight, balanced, loose, very loose, saturated — with thresholds calibrated on the national distribution. Assigned only when a segment has 20+ transactions in the window.

Ownership economics

Buy-versus-rent and affordability measures.

Mortgage-to-income ratio

Census median monthly mortgage repayment converted to weekly (× 12 ÷ 52), divided by median weekly household income for the suburb — the owner-side counterpart to the rent-to-income ratio.

Ownership premium

The weekly cost gap between buying and renting the median property, as a percentage of rent. The mortgage side assumes a standardised loan (80% LVR, 6.0% p.a., 30-year principal-and-interest). +40% means owning costs 40% more per week than renting; negative means buying is cheaper. See the formula.

Rent-to-income ratio

Census median weekly rent divided by median weekly household income for the suburb. A common affordability stress marker is a ratio above 0.30.

Weekly mortgage repayment (standardised)

The weekly repayment on the segment’s median price under the standardised loan — 80% LVR, 6.0% p.a., 30-year principal-and-interest amortisation. The buy side of the ownership premium; deliberately a constant-rate construct so suburbs stay comparable, not a quote.

Rankings & comparisons

Percentiles, similar markets and nearby markets.

Comparable market (similar market)

A segment in another suburb — same state, property type and bedroom cohort — whose behaviour most closely matches the one you’re viewing, scored on price, yield, speed, ownership economics and cycle phase. See the similarity model.

Great-circle (haversine) distance

The shortest distance between two points over the Earth’s surface, computed from suburb centroid coordinates. All distances on Micromarkets are great-circle — straight-line, not driving distance.

Nearby markets

Suburbs within 25 km (great-circle distance between suburb centroids, same state), compared like-for-like on the same property type and bedroom cohort, with 5/10/15/20 km radius filters.

Percentile rank

Where a value sits in its comparison group, 0–100: a 92nd-percentile result beats 92% of the cohort. Market percentiles compare segments of the same property type and bedroom cohort (state and national); census percentiles compare all populated Australian suburbs nationally and within their state.

Price band / DOM band

Five-step classifications of how a comparable differs from the anchor segment. Price bands step at ±5% and ±20% (much cheaper → much dearer); DOM bands step at ±3 and ±14 days (much faster → much slower).

Similarity score

The 0–1 weighted score behind comparable markets — combining price (or rent), yield, market speed, ownership economics and cycle-phase match, minus a small distance penalty (max 0.05 at 100 km). Computed separately for the sales and rental markets. Weights are documented in the methodology.

Suburb centroid

The geographic centre point of a suburb’s official boundary, used for distance calculations and map markers.

People & age

Census population structure.

Age–sex pyramid

The population chart showing each five-year age band split by sex, as shares of the suburb’s population. Built from the ABS single-year-of-age table (G04).

Ageing index

Census residents aged 65+ per 100 children aged under 15. Above 100 means seniors outnumber children in the suburb.

Dependency ratio (youth / aged / total)

People outside working age per 100 working-age residents (15–64). Youth = children 0–14 per 100; aged = seniors 65+ per 100; total = both combined. Higher ratios mean more dependants per worker.

Median age

The middle age of a suburb’s residents — half are older, half younger.

Sex ratio

Males per 100 females among the suburb’s usual residents.

Usual resident

The ABS population basis: someone who normally lives at an address, counted there even if temporarily away on Census night. All population and demographic figures on Micromarkets count usual residents — not visitors present on the night.

Households & families

Who shares a dwelling, and how.

Average household size

Average number of people usually living in each occupied private dwelling.

Family composition

The ABS breakdown of family types: couples with children under 15, couples with older children only, couples without children, one-parent families (split the same way), and other families (e.g. adult siblings cohabiting). Shares are of all families in the suburb.

Family household

A dwelling containing at least one family — a couple, a one-parent family, or other related persons living together (ABS definition).

Group household

Two or more unrelated adults sharing a dwelling with no family relationship — share houses. Computed as non-family households minus lone-person households.

Lone-person household

A dwelling occupied by one person living alone, as a share of all occupied private dwellings.

Persons per bedroom

Average people per bedroom across occupied private dwellings — a crowding measure. Values above 2 may indicate overcrowding.

Housing & dwellings

Tenure, structure and dwelling stock.

Dwelling structure

The ABS physical classification of dwellings: separate (detached) house; semi-detached / row / terrace / townhouse; flat or apartment (any height); and other (caravans, cabins, improvised homes). Shares are of occupied private dwellings with stated structure.

Tenure (owned / mortgaged / renting)

How households hold their home: owned outright, owned with a mortgage, renting, or other. Owner-occupier share = outright + mortgaged. All tenure shares exclude dwellings whose tenure was not stated.

Income, work & education

Earnings, labour force and schooling.

High / low income earners

High earners = residents with personal income ≥ $2,000/week; low earners = under $500/week; low-income households = total household income under $650/week. All shares exclude not-stated incomes.

In education share

Residents currently attending any educational institution — school, TAFE or university, full or part time — as a share of the population.

Labour force status

The ABS classification for residents 15+: employed full-time (35+ hours across all jobs), employed part-time, unemployed (actively looking and available to start), or not in the labour force (retirees, full-time students, carers). Measured for the week before Census night.

Median income (household / personal / family)

Three ABS weekly medians, all before tax and from all sources: household (all residents 15+ in a dwelling, combined), personal (individuals 15+), and family (family members 15+, combined). Household income is the one used in the affordability ratios.

Occupation groups (ANZSCO)

The eight ABS (ANZSCO) occupation major groups, shown as shares of employed residents: managers, professionals, technicians & trades, community & personal service, clerical & administrative, sales, machinery operators & drivers, and labourers. The report groups trades, operators and labourers into one “trades & labour” line.

Participation rate

Residents 15+ who are in the labour force — working or looking for work — as a share of those whose status was stated.

Unemployment rate (Census)

The share of the labour force — people working or actively looking — who are unemployed. Not a share of all residents. A point-in-time Census measure; the ABS monthly Labour Force Survey is the official ongoing series.

Culture, migration & diversity

Birthplace, language, ancestry, religion.

Ancestry (multi-response)

Census respondents can report up to two ancestries (e.g. “English” and “Irish”), so ancestry shares are shares of total responses, not of people — the raw counts can sum past the suburb’s population.

Diversity index (birthplace / language / religion)

The chance that two randomly chosen residents differ on the attribute — born in different countries, speak different home languages, or follow different religions. 0 = everyone the same; near 1 = highly mixed. A Gini–Simpson-style index computed from the ABS distribution shares, published as a value and a percentile.

Language other than English at home

Residents who mainly speak a language other than English at home, of those who stated a language. Measures the language used, not English ability — see English proficiency for that.

Low English proficiency share

Residents who report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” — a language-barrier measure, not a bilingualism measure (most multilingual residents speak English well).

Migrant arrival era

For overseas-born residents only: when they arrived in Australia, grouped into eras (before 1981, 1981–2000, 2001–2010, 2011–2015, 2016–2021), with arrival-year-not-stated excluded. The established migrant share is the portion who arrived before 2011 — higher means a long-settled migrant community.

Parental origin (second generation)

Whether a resident’s parents were born overseas: both overseas, one overseas, or both born in Australia — shares of stated responses. “Both parents overseas” approximates the second generation of migration.

Religious affiliation

Self-reported religion shares, of those who stated: Christian denominations individually, other major religions, and no religion / secular beliefs. The question is voluntary on the Census form, and not-stated responses are excluded from the denominators.

Mobility & transport

Turnover, commuting and vehicles.

Commute mode

How employed residents got to work on Census day. Public transport = train, bus, ferry or tram; active transport = walked or cycled — both as shares of those who actually travelled (worked-from-home and didn’t-go-to-work are excluded from the denominator). Worked-from-home is reported separately — and was elevated by COVID lockdowns in August 2021.

Motor vehicles per dwelling

The average number of registered motor vehicles kept at each occupied dwelling, plus the share of households with no vehicle. Excludes motorbikes and heavy vehicles; not-stated households are excluded from the denominator.

Residential mobility (1-year / 5-year)

Where residents lived one and five years before the Census, of those who stated. Settled 5+ years = same address as five years ago; moved in past year = different address a year ago; arrived from overseas (5 yr) = living overseas five years ago. Together they drive the report’s turnover section.

Geography & data sources

ABS, Census, SAL, SEIFA.

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics)

Australia’s national statistical agency — the source of the 2021 Census DataPacks and SEIFA indexes used for all demographic data on Micromarkets. Licensed CC BY 4.0; see attribution.

ASGS (Australian Statistical Geography Standard)

The ABS framework that defines official geographic boundaries in Australia. Micromarkets uses Suburbs and Localities (SAL) boundaries from ASGS Edition 3 (2021).

Census 2021 (DataPacks, G-tables)

The ABS Census of Population and Housing (held August 2021), published as DataPacks of numbered “G-tables” — G01 (population summary), G02 (medians), G17 (income), G37 (tenure), G62 (commute) and so on. Micromarkets derives suburb demographics from 24 of these tables; the full list is in the methodology.

SAL (Suburbs and Localities)

The official ABS geographic unit for suburbs and localities, used for all census statistics on Micromarkets. Defined in ASGS Edition 3 (2021).

SEIFA (IRSAD, IER, IEO)

The ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (2021). IRSAD ranks relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage; IER ranks economic resources; IEO ranks education and occupation. Micromarkets republishes the official scores with national and state deciles and percentiles.

Data quality & safeguards

Windows, thresholds, flags and suppression.

Clip bound (off-scale)

Chart axes clip at the 99th percentile of the national distribution so a handful of extreme suburbs can’t flatten the scale for everyone else. Values beyond the bound are marked “off-scale” rather than hidden.

Completeness flag

A per-metric marker on the 5-year tape indicating whether the monthly history is complete or has gaps. Gaps are flagged, never silently interpolated.

Low-reliability flag (Census)

Marks suburbs with fewer than 50 usual residents at the 2021 Census — too small for stable percentage-based statistics, since ABS privacy adjustments alone can swing a share by several points. Flagged suburbs are excluded from the percentile universe.

Rolling window (12-month)

The trailing 12 complete months over which headline metrics are computed. Rolling windows smooth out single-month noise at the cost of a little recency; growth metrics compare consecutive windows.

Sample quality

A per-segment grade derived from transaction counts. Derived metrics need at least 15 transactions on each side they touch (20 for supply bands and growth percentiles); below that, figures display as “too thin” rather than risking a misleading number.

Stated responses (denominator rule)

Census shares on Micromarkets exclude “not stated” responses from the denominator — e.g. renter share = rented dwellings ÷ dwellings with stated tenure — so a suburb with a high non-response rate can’t have its shares silently diluted.

Suppression (ABS)

The ABS’s privacy protection: small census cells are randomly adjusted or withheld entirely. Micromarkets treats suppressed values as missing, never as zero.

Tape (5-year)

The 60-month monthly history charts on each suburb report — price, volume, days on market, yield, rent and supply — with completeness flags where thin markets have gaps in the record.

The Read

The written summary at the top of each suburb report, generated deterministically from the page’s own metrics at every monthly refresh. Never manually edited; makes no forecasts.

Thin market

A segment with too few transactions in the window to support reliable statistics — below 15 for derived metrics, below 20 for supply bands. Displayed as “too thin” instead of a number.