A new report from PRDnationwide has made some surprising discoveries along the eastern seaboard, including affordability in parts of Sydney for the first time since 2016 and a strong market in Brisbane’s north.
The PRDnationwide Affordable and Liveable Property Guides 2nd Half 2018 for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart reports on many key indicators, creating a holistic picture of property conditions in each capital city.
In previous reports Brisbane has had pockets of affordable and livable housing across the city, but in this report they’re now all located in the north. Aspley, Everton Park and Geebung were named the top three performers for housing, with Carseldine, Doolandella and Wynnum West taking out the top three suburbs for units.
Brisbane and Sydney also saw an increase in affordability, with the less than $500k price bracket increasing. Brisbane saw the bracket increase from 10.6 per cent in the second half of 2017 to 12.4 per cent. For the first time since 2016, Sydney buyers will be able to access the less than $500k market – although it does still have the smallest percentage with just 1.4 per cent.
Sydney also saw all affordable and liveable suburbs having negative annual median price growth for the first time since 2015, a sure sign of the cooling market. The top three suburbs for housing, according to the report, are Panania, Jannali and Picnic Point, and the top three for units are Padstow, Peakhurst and Hurstville.
Melbourne came in as the most resilient state, beating Sydney in price growth and proving to be a winner in liveability too. Clarinda, Greensborough and Mill Park were the top performers in housing, with Carnegie, Caulfield North and Mill Park topping units. Despite being listed as a very liveable city, the report named Melbourne the most expensive to live in.
Finally, Hobart saw a disappointing result with none of the affordable suburbs able to satisfy the liveability criteria. To ensure liveability aspects were met, the median suburb price had to be raised above that of the Hobart metro median price. This only occurred in Hobart, which suggests the strong need to develop a strategy that addresses liveability aspects in more affordable areas of Hobart.
Geilston Bay, Kingston and Lindisfarne were the top suburbs for housing, according to the report, and the top for units were Bellerive, Kingston and Lindisfarne. Hobart also saw a dramatic jump in the premium market, with the over $800k market tripling from 3.6 per cent to 10.2 per cent over the past 12 months.
Each PRDnationwide Affordable and Liveable Property Guide focuses on suburbs within a 20km radius of the CBD, taking into consideration the following factors:
- Property trends – all suburbs considered will have a minimum of 20 transactions for statistical reliability purposes, with positive price growth from 2017 to 2018.
- Investment – as of June 2018 the suburb will have an on-par or higher rental yield than Melbourne Metro, and an on-par or lower vacancy rate.
- Affordability – suburbs with a median price below the maximum sale price of state average home loan plus allocated premium percentage. The premium percentage added for a hotspot suburb must be below the premium percentage added to purchase the relevant capital city median price.
- Project development – the suburb has a high total estimated value of project development for the second half of 2018. This ensures sustainable economic growth, having a positive effect on the property market.
- Liveability factors – this includes low crime rate, availability of amenities within a 5km radius (i.e. schools, green space, public transport, shopping centres and health care facilities), and an unemployment rate on par or lower in comparison to the state average (as determined by the Department of Jobs and Small Business, June Quarter 2018 release).
