Yahoo Finance 59% growth: The suburbs where property values soared in 2021
Who said closed borders and lockdowns would hurt the property market? Aussie home prices soared this year, with one suburb seeing a rise of more than 58 per cent.
The extraordinary momentum, carried over from 2020 and coupled with monetary and fiscal stimulus measures, contributed to an unprecedented year of growth and a litany of outstanding results.
CoreLogic’s annual Best of the Best report has provided suburb-level analysis of Australia’s best and worst performers, including top sales, highest median values and strongest growth rates.
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In reviewing the year that was, CoreLogic’s head of research, Eliza Owen, said the estimated value of Australia’s residential real estate had gone from $7.2 trillion at the end of November 2020, to reach a record high of $9.4 trillion in just 12 months.
“Strong housing market performance over the year was driven by multiple factors, including low interest rates, fiscal and institutional support for households, high household savings and relatively low levels of advertised stock,” Owen said.
Freestanding house values increased 24.6 per cent in the past year, outperforming the 14.2 per cent uplift in national apartment values.
Those who owned a home in St Andrews Beach, VIC, saw their property values rise a massive 58.6 per cent in the last 12 months.
Similarly, regional homes saw a boost of 25.2 per cent, beating out that of capital cities, which saw a rise of 21.3 per cent for the year.
“The popularity of regional Australia is reflected in many aspects of the Best of the Best report for 2021,” Owen said.
The quiet coastal suburb of Yamba, in the Coffs Harbour-Grafton region of NSW, achieved the highest annual growth in units of suburbs across Australia, at 56.6 per cent.
“Regional suburbs were represented in many of the top value growth tables, including Ocean Grove units in Geelong (up 41.7 per cent in the year), Fraser Island units in Wide Bay (up 48.2 per cent), and Campbell Town houses in Tasmania (up 50.5 per cent),” Owen said.
Property investors in Kambalda West (WA) were able to bring home a 14.7 per cent gross rental yield.
Despite its strength, the year also experienced a softening in growth trends as many of the driving forces behind the current upswing lost some impact in the second half of 2021.
Owen said it was likely Australia’s property market saw the peak of value increases as worsening affordability constraints, a surge in vendor activity and a recent tightening of housing finance conditions took effect.
While providing an outlook for the 2022 market, Owen noted the likelihood that sales and listings activity had also likely peaked.
Here are some of the standout national figures from 2021:
Best of the Best 2021 – National House Highlights
Highest median house value: Bellevue Hill (NSW) - $8,736,643
Lowest median house value: Kambalda East (WA) - $90,155
Highest 12-month change in median house value: St Andrews Beach (VIC) – 58.6 per cent
Highest 12-month change in house rents: Bicheno (TAS) – 40.9 per cent
Highest gross rental yield houses: Kambalda West (WA) – 14.7 per cent
Best of the Best 2021 – National Unit Highlights
Highest median unit value: Point Piper (NSW) - $3,216,796
Lowest median unit value: Woree (QLD) - $158,846
Highest 12-month change in median unit value: Yamba (NSW) – 56.6 per cent
Highest 12-month change in unit rents: Narooma (NSW) – 33.7 per cent
Highest gross rental yield units: Woree (QLD) – 10.7 per cent
Best of the Best 2021 – National Top Sale Highlights
Top sale price: 43/163 Castlereagh Street, Sydney (NSW) - $60 million
Total value of top 10 sales: $407 million
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