Investors who are looking to grab a slice of the top end property market may want to get into this sector sooner than later as prices are starting to turn around.

RP Data senior analyst, Cameron Kusher said that while the median price for premium properties are still 8% below the March 2008 peak, there are growing evidence that it's following the broader market into a recovery.

In its June report, the RP Data Rismark Index showed the median values for the top 20 most expensive suburbs in Australia jumped by 5.7% since their lowest point in January 2009.

"If people have the financial capacity to purchase into the top end, now is a good time to break into this market because high quality properties can still be purchased at competitive prices. The prestige market has suffered due to few active buyers and a higher than normal amount of stock on the market which has led to price falls and reductions in the asking price of many homes advertised for sale," he said.

Prestige properties offering the highest discounts are mostly located adjacent to water according to RP Data. WA has the highest number of expensive suburbs offering the biggest discounts, nine of which are located in Perth. Queensland has four suburbs, all of which are located in Brisbane while NSW has Byron Bay, the only town outside Sydney included.

"The clear trend throughout the list is that suburbs located adjacent to the water are the ones which have been hampered by the greatest level of discounting while they have also seen above average levels of stocks come to the market during the last year," said Kusher. "With the upper end of the market showing the first signs of improvement, but with prices still well below peak and potential buyers remaining thin on the ground, now is clearly the best opportunity to get a competitive price on a high quality property before buyers become more active."

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