Once upon a time, the Sydney median house price was $650,000.

Most people reading that line would think that must have been back around the turn of the century, but in fact, it was only 10 years ago.

Back then, a loaf of bread cost $3, as did a cappuccino. Petrol was just over a dollar a litre and a Big Mac was $4.

It goes to show how quickly inflation can work. And not just the inflation of the cost of goods and food, but the inflation of values in the housing market.

Many real estate investors use a rule of thumb in their wealth creation assumptions that property will double in value every 7 to 10 years.

It’s a pretty accurate generalization, but there are many different property markets in Australia and their conditions and economic drivers can vary wildly.

Some markets double in value much faster than over 10 years, while others can stay flat for many years.

And a recent PropTrack report revealed a handful of Australian suburbs that were now actually cheaper than they were 10 years ago.

Cheaper than in 2014?

The research showed areas that had seen a lot of apartment construction or house and land builds, largely on city fringes, were the likeliest candidates to have median prices lower than in 2014.

In Sydney, the northwest, Parramatta and St George regions were where there had been price freezes or falls. Sydney Olympic Park was the suburb most affected, with unit medians at $685,000 compared to $700,000 in 2014. Other suburbs were Rosehill, Box Hill and Austral.

In Melbourne, the suburbs were Caulfield east, Werribee South and Essendon North.

For Brisbane, it was the inner city areas, plus Ipswich where values had been stagnant.

In Adelaide, Hackham and Hawthorn were two suburbs to suffer surprise price falls, even as Adelaide continued to lead the country for growth over the past 12 months.

It’s bad news for home owners who were hoping to have built some equity in that time…but good news for buyers looking for a bargain entry to the market.

How do I know where to invest?

Even with numbers going backwards in some of these locations, it doesn’t necessarily mean they would make good investment hotspots. Sure, you can get them for below value, but is that just because they were overvalued in the first place?

Some apartment heavy locations may have too much property for the infrastructure and amenity there. People may have nowhere to park, or local schools might be full.

Then there are the houses on city fringes which may not have transport links completed yet, especially if they are new suburbs.

It’s best to stick to the main pillars of your strategy. For B Invested clients, it’s not just about buying under value. The properties must have great cashflow and there must also be upside for growth.

And like anywhere, there should be a diverse and balanced economy, access to education and transport infrastructure, good employment and growing industries so that people are going to want to pay you rent in order to live in one of your assets.