Australia’s property market is so hot houses in some suburbs are selling in less than a week.
Real estate agent Ray White has revealed that across Australia, homes are typically selling in 35 days as interest rates remain at record lows.
But in pockets of Sydney, Perth and Hobart, home hunters are snapping up properties in just six days.
In Brisbane, homes in one suburb are staying on the market for only a week, while in Melbourne a buyer in one postcode is typically found in eight days.
Australia’s property values in September surged by 20.3 per cent – the fastest annual increase since June 1989 during an era of 17 per cent interest rates.
Surprisingly, however, homes in desirable locations by the beach are struggling to sell, even with the Reserve Bank of Australia keeping the cash rate at a record-low of 0.1 per cent.
Australia’s property market is so hot houses in some suburbs are selling in less than a week. At Werrington Downs (house pictured), near Mount Druitt in western Sydney, homes are selling in six days in an area where the mid-point price is $740,000
Sydney
Sydney’s median house price in the year to September soared by 28.9 per cent to a staggering $1.312million, CoreLogic data showed.
But a separate set of Domain sales data also covering September showed an even more seismic annual increase of 30.4 per cent, taking the mid-point to $1.499million.
The steep prices have seen buyers flock to more affordable suburbs with the banks still offering fixed mortgage rates not far north of 2 per cent.
At Werrington Downs, near Mount Druitt in western Sydney, homes are selling in six days in an area where the mid-point price in $740,000.
Advertised homes at neighbouring Cambridge Gardens, with a median price of $697,500, are typically finding a buyer in seven days.
Homes in prospect, where the median price is $845,000, are also selling in a week.
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said demand for homes with a backyard was strong in suburbs a long way from the city.
Surprisingly, upmarket homes at upmarket South Coogee near the beach are taking 96 days to sell. But this could have something to do with the median price being $3.755million in an area that is home to radio personality Amanda Keller and Finder co-founder Fred Schebesta
‘A feature of the quickest selling homes is that they are reasonably priced, nice suburbs,’ she said.
‘Many of them are outer suburban – this has been a key feature of strong demand suburbs during the pandemic.
‘Buyers have valued properties with bigger homes and larger blocks more than they used to.’
Surprisingly, homes in upmarket South Coogee near the beach are taking 96 days to sell – four times Sydney’s typical selling time of 24 days. But this could have something to do with the median price being $3.755million.
‘Slowest selling suburbs generally have something unusual about them,’ Ms Conisbee said.
‘They could be very expensive such as South Coogee – a lovely suburb but with a median close to $4 million would be out of reach for most buyers.’
Melbourne
Compared with other capital city markets, Melbourne homes are taking longer to sell with a median market time of 37 days.
Hurstbridge is the exception with homes in this outer suburban area, 28km north-east of the CBD, taking eight days to sell.
The median property price here is $882,500.
By comparison properties at Brooklyn, between Footscray and Altona in Melbourne’s west, are taking 114 days to sell, despite being near the city with a mid-point price of $860,000.
‘Brooklyn in western Melbourne isn’t far from the CBD but a lot of the suburb is industrial,’ Ms Conisbee said.
Like Sydney and Melbourne, outer-urban areas of Brisbane are also proving to be popular with buyers. At Eatons Hills, houses are typically selling in just seven days
Brisbane
Like Sydney and Melbourne, outer-urban areas of Brisbane are also proving to be popular with buyers.
At Eatons Hills, houses are typically selling in just seven days in an area where the mid-point price is $730,000.
Affordable areas are in demand with homes in Gailes, Ipswich selling in eight days, where the median price is just $305,000.
Chermside West, a short drive north of Brisbane’s city centre, is also selling in eight days, with $680,000 the mid-point price.
But at Russell Island near the Gold Coast, properties are taking 74 days to sell, which is significantly more than the Brisbane median of 31 days.
‘All the slowest selling suburbs in Brisbane are on islands,’ Ms Conisbee said.
‘They could also have features about them that appeal to a smaller group of buyers.’
Homes in Hobart are typically selling in just 17.5 days, twice as fast as the national median. But in middle and upmarket suburbs, properties are selling in just six days. That record of success includes Kingston Beach where the median price is $820,000
Hobart
Homes in Hobart are typically selling in just 17.5 days, twice as fast as the national median.
But in middle and upmarket suburbs, properties are selling in just six days.
That record of success includes Kingston Beach where the median price is $820,000, well above the city-wide mid-point of $659,622.
Rokeby, in Hobart’s east, has a median price of $425,750 while Lenah Valley in the north-west has a mid-point of $705,000.
Despite being cut off from the rest of Australia, Perth also has sought-after postcodes from inner-city to the outer suburbs
Perth
Despite being cut off from the rest of Australia during the pandemic, Perth also has sought-after postcodes from the inner-city to the outer suburbs.
Homes at Shenton Park, a short walk from the city through Kings Park on the Swan River, are typically selling in six days, despite the median price of $1.5million being almost triple Perth’s $524,589.
Real estate in the satellite city of Rockingham, south of Perth, is also in demand with Hillman homes selling in six days, where the mid-point price is just $285,000.
Samson in Perth’s south is also selling in six days, with a median price of $575,500.
The Ray White sales data was compiled before the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the banking regulator, announced lenders would be made to assess a borrower’s ability to cope with mortgage rates rising by 3 percentage points.