WHERE YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT
Over the past decade , the median in Sydney has increased the most . There are a lot of factors that have driven this . Like the rest of Australia , low cost of finance has been a big factor . Similarly , strong population growth has supported housing demand . Sydney is also a difficult city to build in , with waterways , national parks and other geographic barriers making development difficult . This , along with planning and infrastructure issues , has limited new supply . Ten years ago , the median for Sydney was just $ 401,000 . It ’ s now $ 1.35 million , more than tripling over that time period .
The medians of each capital city have in fact , at least , doubled . Although Darwin saw the lowest amount of growth , its median still increased from $ 269,000 to $ 550,000 . At an aggregate level , it ’ s held that property prices more than double every 10 years . Once you get to suburb level , there are many suburbs that have seen even higher growth .
Some suburbs that have seen strong growth reflect a change in the types of homes being developed over time . Suburbs moving from a small number of older homes to a large number of new homes often see a big jump in values , primarily due to an improvement in housing stock . Often infrastructure is also improved - better schools , public transport and retail facilities drive housing values . Even small changes can make a difference . An outdated retail strip revitalised by a nice cafe changes the dynamic of a suburb which can flow through to the desirability to live there .
Another major shift has been the popularity of living near water and bushland . Even with high levels of flooding occurring at the moment and destruction caused by bushfires , this is not enough to deter people . Even if homes are not impacted directly , insurance premiums have increased a lot in areas that are more sensitive .
Where we ’ ll see the most house price growth over the next 10 years is difficult to predict . Hobart a decade ago was the most affordable capital city in Australia and no one predicted how significantly it would change to now being one of the most expensive . Similarly , the pandemic drove values in regional Australia and in places like Canberra , another change that was certainly not expected even at the start of the pandemic . Overwhelmingly however , liveability seems to be what people are looking for . While this obviously has different meanings for different people , walkability , nice retail precincts , good schools and efficient public transport seem to always be on buyer ’ s radars .
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