Sydney’s fastest-growing suburbs – take a cut lunch

By Bob Wilson, 20th July 2010

Those whose idea of a Sydney "suburb" involves pictures of cute little terraces and cottages in Newtown or Annandale could be in for a shock when reading about a new survey, which shows suburbs with the greatest percentage increase in the number of sales in 2009.

For a start, four of the top five suburbs are located in the outer ring - 40km to 80km from the CBD. For another thing, two of these suburbs have unfamiliar (if you come from another state) names - Copacabana and Watanobbi.

PRDnationwide's survey of the top 10 suburbs for sales growth nominated Watanobbi, 70km north of Sydney, as topping the list in the Sydney statistical division. The 88 transactions recorded in 2009 equated to a105% increase on 2008 sales.

Watanobbi also recorded annual sales growth of 7% per year over the past five years. It is not difficult to see why - Watanobbi is an affordable suburb, with a median house price of $277,500 for the six months to December 2009. While some might find a 70km commute a challenge, Watanobbi is on a major transport corridor serviced by rail and highway.

In fact, four of the five top suburbs are located within the 40km to 80km band, but all are serviced by major highways and train lines. Other "suburbs" to record high sales growth were Cabramatta West (+90%), Bensville (+90%), Copacabana (+88%) and North Gosford (+81%).

We used inverted commas when describing these areas as"suburbs" because, from our world view, calling North Gosford a suburb of Sydney is like calling a Sunshine Coast commuter town like Beerwah a suburb of Brisbane. Someone living in North Gosford with a job in a Pitt Street building can expect a 152km round-trip commute every day.

PRDnationwide's Jim Midgley says the areas experiencing the greatest growth in sales offer a high degree of amenity and are well-serviced by transport corridors. (Not all of these growth areas of the Sydney region are that far from the City. Cabramatta West is only 27km from the CBD and is still affordable, with a median house price of $376,000 in the 2009 December half.)

So what's the attraction of these out-lying suburbs? Midgley says: "A contributing factor to the steady growth in these regions is the general affordability of housing, with a variety of housing options to suit all tastes and budgets."

PRDnationwide suggests that North Gosford's affordable house prices and location alongside transport infrastructure appealed to first-homebuyers and investors alike. North Gosford's median price was $334,926 in December 2009 - a year earlier it was $250,250.

Of the 10 suburbs showing the greatest annual increase in sales, Copacabana recorded the largest median price ($563,000) but this was 2% lower than in 2008. The other four suburbs recorded increased median prices- ranging from 34% (North Gosford) to 5.5% (Bensville).

In terms of the most growth in sales activity, Sydney's inner-ring suburbs barely rate a mention - Fairfield Heights qualified with a 0.5% annual increase over five years, but that was the only one.

The inner ring also did not rate a mention in a study of the top 10 suburbs by volume of sales over the 12 months. Four of the five top-selling suburbs were in the middle ring (up to 40km out) - Blacktown, Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills and Quakers Hill.

These suburbs recorded increased sales volume ranging from 2% (Quakers Hill) to 22% (Blacktown). Median prices in these suburbs ranged from $340,000 (Blacktown) to $713,000 (Castle Hill), the latter  sought-after for its proximity to the CBD (just over 20km).

ENDS

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