Australian Property: Hot beachside suburbs across the country

• Anthony Nardella
• July 20, 2021

Skyrocketing prices see buyers look to new frontiers

 

First home buyers are still seeking out inner city locations across Australia, despite house prices rising, including in Sydney’s Surry Hills and Southbank in Melbourne.

Despite the median cost of a house in Surry Hills sitting at $1.83 million and a unit at $921,000, according to realestate.com.au, the suburb alongside Darlinghurst were popular with first home buyers.

In Melbourne suburbs such as Richmond, which has a median price of $1.3 million but just $603,500 for units, and Southank’s apartments which average $570,000, were one of the main areas first home buyers were seeking, according to research from National Australia Bank (NAB).

Lending to first home buyers hit a new record high in April, according to new NAB data, but the rush into regional areas has slowed from last year’s remarkable growth.

With working from home growing across the country ever since the pandemic hit, regional areas saw a huge growth in desirability.

Regional areas across the nation recorded an 84 per cent jump in first home buyer activity, while metro areas rose 65 per cent compared to a year ago, NAB found.

However, it’s a different story in the four months to April, with a 4 per cent dip in regional first home buyer activity as against a 13 per cent rise in metro.

“It’s been interesting to see activity slow in regional areas from the final few months of last year, but over a 12-month period it’s clear the sea and tree change has been incredibly popular for first-time buyers,” said Mr Kerr

Coastal towns in regional NSW remain a popular choice, with Port Macquarie one of the five areas to feature on the list of hotspots now, he added.