Cathy Orr has lived in Durack for more than 10 years. Picture: Glenn Campbell

THE Top End’s most treasured suburbs were found in a recent property study.

Data from RiskWise found the Top End’s five most tightly held suburbs based on average holding times.

The Top 5 suburbs are:

Malak — 12.3 years

Wulagi — 11.3 years

McMinns Lagoon — 11.1 years

Durack — 10.9 years

Gunn — 10.9 years

Durack resident Cathy Orr has lived in the suburb for more than 10 years.

“I’ve been married for 37 years now and this is the house we’ve lived in the longest,” she said.

“It’s a really fabulous environment for families. We’ve got the golf course on one side and the park in front so it doesn’t feel like we’re living in a suburb. It’s gorgeous.”

Raine & Horne general manager Glenn Grantham said Durack was one of Palmerston’s premier suburbs.

“It’s such a quiet little nook that’s segregated from everywhere else because there’s no through road,” he said.

“The only reason people leave is they’re moving interstate or going for a lifestyle change. Durack is a real owner occupier suburb.”

Mr Grantham said Gunn had similar qualities to Durack.

“It has similar features like parks and lakes,” he said.

“It’s been designed with the family in mind for people to live rather than invest. If you went through and had the percentage of investors in Gunn compared to other suburbs in Palmerston, you’ll find investors are well down. It’s mostly owner occupiers.”

He said Wulagi was Darwin’s hidden gem.

“Wulagi’s location and proximity to what you want in the northern suburbs is right at your fingertips so you can understand why people don’t want to leave,” he said.

“It’s a high price location with a low price entry. How do you move on and replace that with something else for the that same entry point?”

McMinns Lagoon was favoured for its property size and proximity to Darwin.

“People go out there for larger block opportunities,” he said.

“It’s within striking distance of Darwin but at the same time you’re able to enjoy the larger block and rural lifestyle.”

Mr Grantham suggested there were more treasured suburbs than Malak.

“Your premium suburbs like Fannie Bay, Nightcliff, Rapid Creek and Parap are usually pretty tightly held,” he said.

“You’ve got a lot of long term Darwin people there because of the premium dollar value. If you need a bigger house, you knock down the existing and build. That’s what’s happening these days, you can’t replace the block of land, it never loses value.”