The number of Australian suburbs where homes command a median A$1 million ($762,000) price has surged in the wake of a four-year long housing boom driven by declining interest rates and demand from investors. Suburbs where the median value is at least A$1 million jumped 29 percent to 613 in the year ended June, and more than doubled over the past three years, according to a report from real estate research firm CoreLogic. New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, has just over 68 percent of all national suburbs with a median home value of at least A$1 million, up from 60 percent in 2008. Victoria state, with Melbourne as the capital, increased its proportion of million-dollar suburbs to almost 17 percent from about 14 percent in 2008. Home prices nationwide have soared almost 40 percent from a low in May 2012, underpinned by investors, who faced with low returns from other asset classes, took advantage of record low interest rates and a favorable tax system for landlords to pile into the property market.