Yahoo Finance Australia's fastest-selling suburbs
Hobart, which is experiencing one of the country’s biggest housing shortages, has been declared Australia’s speediest property market, with three suburbs taking just six days to sell.
New data from Ray White reveals the capital of the apple isle is leading a two-speed national market, which has faced significant challenges due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.
At the same time, Hobart recorded one of the biggest jumps in median property values in the last quarter - coming second only to Canberra - by adding 6.4 per cent to the median property price of $659,622.
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The Hobart suburbs of Rokeby, Lenah Valley and Kingston Beach all took less than a week to sell; Perth had two suburbs (Samson and Hillman) and Sydney had one (Werrington Downs) that also sold within six days.
They were followed by Brisbane - Eatons Hill (seven), Gailes (eight) and Chermside West (eight).
Most popular suburbs
Regardless of which city they’re in, Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said properties that sold quickly were all “reasonably priced, nice suburbs”.
“Many of them are outer suburbs – this has been a key feature of strong-demand suburbs during the pandemic,” Conisbee said.
“Buyers have valued properties with bigger homes and larger blocks more than they used to.”
Melbourne suburbs beat lockdown
Despite the fact Melbourne was in hard lockdown for 77 days from early August, with in-person inspections and auctions banned, several suburbs remained in high demand. Hurtsbridge (eight days), Cockatoo (nine) and Upway (nine) sold significantly faster than the city average of 37 days.
Darwin’s fastest-selling suburbs were in fact the slowest compared to every other capital city, with their top three suburbs - Anula, Zuccoli and Wulagi - taking 30 to 36 days to sell.
Overall, it currently takes an average of 35 days across Australia's capital cities to sell, up from the record 21 days set in March.
Conisbee said there were a few reasons for the market’s current state.
“The first is that buyers are becoming more discerning, perhaps driven by very fast price growth and a subsequent hesitancy,” she said.
“The second could be lockdowns. It is difficult to sell homes in lockdown.
But it’s not all bad news for homesellers - and especially buyers - in Darwin. According to new data from Finder, it takes just three years and six months to save for a deposit for a median-priced property worth $440,000. In Melbourne, it takes more than twice that long, with seven years and four months needed to save the average $143,125 deposit.
Up to 18 years to save for a deposit
Sydney property prices have increased 5.7 per cent in the quarter to September, making the median property price $1,056,093, Finder senior editor of money Sarah Megginson said it would take eight years and two months to save for a 20 per cent deposit ($181,500). But depending on which part of Sydney you wanted to buy, that time could balloon out to 18 years and one month to move into pricey Mosman, or 16 years and six months for Waverley.
"It's mind-boggling just how long it could take homebuyers to save up for a deposit in some of the country's pricier suburbs,” Megginson said.
“But this doesn't mean first home buyers should feel discouraged. Having a realistic budget and starting to save early on – even if it's just $100 a month – will put you on the right track.”
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