The Whitsundays has been named the top regional location for affordability and sustainable growth, according to a report by PRD Real Estate.
Queensland also takes the second and third position in the charts with Mackay LGA and Toowoomba, respectively.
In NSW, Port Stephens LGA, Greater Hume Region Federation LGA and Federation LGA make the top ten list.
Representing Victoria are Greater Bendigo City, Greater Geelong LGA and Warrnambool.
Tasmania’s Circular Head takes the final position in the top ten line up.
Regional areas have become the most attractive option throughout 2020, with evidence of buyers capitalising on lower median property prices.
The ‘PRD Stand Out Regions’ report highlights affordable regional areas in QLD, VIC, NSW, and TAS.
These areas have median price affordability and provide strong indicators for property investment, local employment growth, and a sustainable economic future.
The selection criteria includes:
Affordability: The Local Government Area (LGA) has a median price below the maximum affordable property sale price.
Trends: The LGA will have 20 transactions or more in 2019 and 2020, with positive price growth within that time.
Investment: To ensure solid investment opportunities, the LGA will have an on-par or higher rental yield than its capital city, as well as an on-par or lower vacancy rate.
Development: There will be a high estimated value of future project development, with a higher concentration of commercial and infrastructure projects to ensure a positive economic outlook.
Unemployment: As of the September quarter of 2020, the LGA will have an on-par or lower unemployment rate than the state average to ensure there is local job growth.
According to the report, there has been a high influx of first home buyers that have entered the property market in 2020, resulting in a growth of 50.4% between the December quarters of 2019 and 2020. This further boosted an already strong market with record low-interest rates and increasingly lenient bank lending policies.
This story The top ten stand out places for property in Australia first appeared on Port Macquarie News.
For city dwellers feeling hemmed in by tiny apartments or fed up with interminable commutes, the fantasy is often a house in the bush or by the beach.
Whether it’s a sea change or a tree change, the idea of getting away from it all is a spellbinding prospect, perhaps never more so than in the middle of a pandemic.
But not all escapes need to end down some country lane far from the conveniences of city life.
Take Wagga Wagga. Going by median prices, you could snap up three houses in this regional city for the price of an average Sydney pad.
And you wouldn’t be giving up great healthcare, schools, jobs, sports, culture or a burgeoning foodie scene.
“Wagga is surprisingly citified,” says Paul Gooden, a director at Fitzpatricks Real Estate. “Aside from not having the coastal advantage of mild weather and the beach, it’s really quite a sophisticated place to be.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Gooden has received steady inquiries from people considering selling homes in Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra and buying in Wagga.
“What you’d pay $1.7 million for in Sydney, you could buy for $700,000 in Wagga.”
Wagga, a main hub in the Riverina, is the largest inland city in NSW. Agribusiness and healthcare are huge job providers. It is home to a Charles Sturt University campus and the biggest TAFE campus in the Riverina, as well as air force and army bases.
Agribusiness and healthcare are huge job providers. Wagga is also home to a Charles Sturt University campus and the biggest TAFE campus in the Riverina, as well as air force and army bases.
The private sector has taken over many roles previously conducted by the military, “so there’s a more permanent population working in defence,” Gooden says, “rather than troops coming and going.”
The train from Wagga to Sydney takes a little over six hours. For decades, there’s been talk of including the city on a high-speed rail link between Sydney and Melbourne, but the project still hasn’t moved from vision to delivery.
More promising are confirmed plans for a freight and logistics hub in Wagga connecting Riverina producers and exporters to the inland rail line. The new project is predicted to create up to 6000 jobs.
House hunters will find properties ranging from pretty heritage-listed Victorian and Federation houses near the city centre to newer apartments, townhouses and freestanding houses in the suburbs and stylish contemporary residences in the suburbs, master-planned estates or acreages out of town.
There are regular local buses and council is building a network of cycle paths linking the outer suburbs with the CBD, including end-of-trip facilities.
Bob Wheeldon recently listed his home on nearly 40 hectares in Gumly eight kilometres east kilometres of central Wagga (see below).
“It has the benefit of being just outside of town, so you can have access to the university, restaurants and services of the town and it’s also on the highway, providing access back to Sydney or to the airport,” Wheeldon says.
Combining a country town feel with urban mod-cons, Wagga offers the best of both worlds.
“You’re not going to get the Rolling Stones playing there but it’s easy enough to hop on a plane to Sydney or Melbourne.”