ACROSS Australia there are dozens of “supercharged” suburbs which, if you invest smartly enough, could make you a fortune.
Potential homebuyers are being urged to snap up homes in these power suburbs, which often sit within a commutable distance from major cities, as well as resurgent towns and communities across regional Australia in the latest Price Predictor Index (PPI) research from experts at hotspotting.com.au.
As markets slow down in Sydney and Melbourne, the research specifically points out the suburbs and areas across Australia which are picking up the slack and booming due to strong local economies and massive infrastructure investment.
Researchers believe these “supercharged” areas are potential goldmines for savvy buyers as they have seen big increases in sales of houses and units and the strongest growth patterns of anywhere in Australia over several consecutive quarters.
The website’s creator and property expert Terry Ryder told news.com.au the top 50 areas on its list are likely to deliver strong price growth in the near future.
He said these “supercharged” suburbs often exist in clusters where a range of different factors have made them great places to buy.
“Generally these suburbs exist in places where the economy is strong,” he said. “Ballarat is one, for example. It has a strong local economy, it’s close to Melbourne and it’s getting a ripple effect from a capital city.
“The regional areas which are within commutable distance from Melbourne and Sydney are starting to rise, but they’ve also got strong local economies themselves, their populations are growing, jobs are being created and money is being spent on infrastructure. These tend to be the common denominators of the areas that are rising.”
And, if you’ve ever dreamt of owning a home among the gumtrees, it might be time to invest in an old rocking chair because the incredible growth of country property market is taking even the most hardened of experts by surprise.
“Shepparton in northern Victoria is one that took me by surprise,” he said. “And the reason it is doing so well is because it has a strong agricultural district in the Goulburn Valley — and that’s pretty strong as a local economy.
“And, also there’s a big spend on a hospital and the roads that connect Shepparton with a major bypass, so that creates jobs and all this feeds back into the property market.
“Broken Hill in NSW is another example and this is because the resources sector is starting to recover which is why you’re seeing small towns in Western Australia and Queensland starting to do well too.
“As the big cities wind down, we’re starting to see Adelaide come strong and Perth is starting to recover.”
THE RISE OF THE AUSSIE COUNTRY TOWN
Mr Ryder believes the consistent growth in regional towns across Australia can be linked to a slowdown in the Melbourne and Sydney markets — where exhausted buyers can no longer afford to invest.
“Booms can only go on for so long until affordability eventually becomes a factor and the buying demand that’s within the market becomes exhausted,” he said. “Then you have measures from various authorities to take the heat out of the market and these things conspire to bring the up cycle to an end. It can only go on so long.”
However, he stressed the research does not show property prices are falling across Australia.
“They are only falling in certain parts of Sydney and Melbourne,” he said. “Many of the strongest markets now are regional areas — particularly in Victoria and NSW.
“So if you are a property investor looking for affordability and better returns, be aware that some of these regional markets are very strong at the moment.
“Regional yields are much better than the cities, so there’s good prospect for growth. The buying price is a lot better, so we call it a win-win for buyers.”
However, Mr Ryder says the icing on the cake for a good buy in Australia is a commutable distance from a major city — which is why areas such as Wollongong and the Central Coast are experiencing major growth.
POWER REGIONS
The latest Price Predictor Index shows there are five power regions which would be smart places to invest in.
1. Newcastle/Hunter Region, NSW
“The City of Newcastle has had very strong price growth (many suburbs have risen 20 per cent or more in the past 12 months),” the report reads. “Now the momentum has shifted to Lake Macquarie and locations in the nearby Hunter Region (including Maitland, Cessnock, Singleton and Muswellbrook).”
2. Regions southeast of Melbourne
The reports states there had previously been an emergence of strong markets in regional areas north of Melbourne within commuting distance of the city — however the trend is now veering south.
“Officer and Pakenham in Cardinia Shire have both had exceptional price growth in the past year,” it reads. “Some of the towns in the Latrobe Valley now have busy markets; Bass Coast towns like Wonthaggi are now rising; and the key locations in the Baw Baw LGA, including Warragul and Drouin, are producing increased sales activity and rising prices.”
3. Recovery precincts in Perth
“Currently there are notable signs of uplift in specific markets, led by Top End suburbs like Bicton and middle-markets locations such as Doubleview and Gwelup,” the report reads. “The standout LGAs in this regard are the municipalities of Stirling and Melville, which jointly have 17 suburbs with growth momentum in their sales activity.”
4. The broad strength in Adelaide
“The leading precincts, both with seven growth suburbs, are Port Adelaide Enfield and Onkaparinga, but the Marion, Holdfast Bay, Salisbury and Tea Tree Gully LGAs are close behind, each with six rising suburbs,” the report states.
5. Small and remote towns
“The ‘supercharged’ locations feature some locations that big city dwellers may not have visited — or even heard of,” the report states. “They include small or remote regional towns such as Broken Hill, Griffith, Inverell, Kempsey, Leeton and Tumut.”
