7 suburbs to watch
New research has revealed the seven suburbs in one capital city which are expected to grow due to infrastructure developments and demographic changes.
Onthehouse.com.au has investigated the relationship between railway infrastructure and growth in property values in Sydney and said two key trends emerged.
“While suburbs with train stations generally do experience higher growth than suburbs without, a railway station does not always mean higher property value growth,” the research said.
In addition, Onthehouse.com.au said “it doesn’t matter where in the suburb you buy, unless the suburb is popular with millennials”.
The research showed that suburbs with train stations generally experienced higher capital growth rates than the Sydney region’s 10-year average.
Onthehouse.com.au cited the City of Blacktown Council as an example where suburbs with train stations had median house prices around 3.7 per cent above those without.
The research also observed that suburbs with a median age demographic below the national average of 37 years presented a stronger relationship between proximity to a train station and higher rates of growth.
“An example of this is Lidcombe, where properties within a one kilometre radius of Lidcombe Station were valued 2.1 per cent higher (approximately $20,000 more) than properties situated outside the radius,” the research said.
According to Onthehouse.com.au market analyst Eliza Owen, millennials are increasingly a driving force on property values.
“With a median age of 33 and with over 22 per cent of the workforce made up of professionals who benefit from the easy access to the Sydney CBD, Lidcombe is a great example of how millennials are driving the change in property values in suburbs that have train stations,” she said.
Onthehouse.com.au said there were seven suburbs to watch based on their millennial populace and upcoming infrastructure projects – including the rail construction that will connect Sydney’s north-western suburbs to the Chatswood rail line by 2019, and an extended light rail service to the eastern suburbs.
The table below is ranked in order of affordability, based on how many times the suburb’s median salary goes into its median property value.
Ms Owen said the rail links would continue to improve the fortunes and investment potential of these suburbs.
“The upcoming stations scheduled for these seven Sydney suburbs will not only connect younger residents with the CBD and surrounding areas, but the ensuing construction is expected to create thousands of jobs and area development, ensuring an increased residential demand in the area,” she said.
“In Kellyville, the building and maintenance of the station, increased dwelling construction and new commercial establishments are expected to create over 3,000 jobs in the area. Whereas in Kingsford, where one third of the residents fall between 20 to 29 years old, the light rail is expected to be popular with young people and students travelling to the city for entertainment and work outside of study hours.”