Australia’s ‘safest’ investment markets revealed
While property investors are always on the hunt for new booming locations, historically steady markets are often overlooked despite showing long-term capital gains.
Hotspotting’s latest Price Predictor Index for summer 2024 revealed the top 50 “safest” locations for property investors in Australia, with Queensland leading the way with 29 local government areas (LGA).
Hotspotting director, Terry Ryder, said that while investors should try to enter a market before it booms, “smart” investors also consider areas that have shown steady growth over the years.
“The value of consistent markets should not be overlooked,” Ryder said.
“Sure, consistent markets are not as thrilling as the supposed ‘next big thing’, but these areas offer a safe harbour for property buyers with the culmination of steady price growth over multiple years producing significant results over the medium- to long-term.”
The latest Hotspotting report found that Queensland has the highest number of consistent suburbs in the country, with 29 locations in Brisbane and regional Queensland.
Among others, the report noted the suburbs of Albany Creek, Narangba and Caboolture South in the Moreton Bay LGA, as well as Glenvale in Toowoomba and Forest Lake in Brisbane.
Hotspotting data showed that Buderim in the Sunshine Coast was a good example of a “safe” investment suburb, with its median house price rising 14 per cent to $1,250,000 in the past 12 months, consistent sales volumes for the past three years and five-year capital growth averaging 13.3 per cent yearly.
Conversely, if the 29 suburbs recorded were in Queensland, 10 were in NSW and six in Victoria.
Western Australia only recorded four areas on the top 50 most consistent suburbs list.
The “safest” suburbs in Western Australia are Cloverdale in Belmont, Mandurah, Parmelia in the Kwinana LGA and Yokine in Stirling.
According to Ryder, the difference in numbers of steady suburbs between states represents a “turning point”.
“This represents a turning point in the national property market, with the WA boom past its peak and attention switching increasingly to Queensland, which benefits from internal migration, such as the exodus to affordable lifestyle, more than any other state or territory and is attracting rising numbers of investors because of its supply of affordable regional cities with high rental yields,” Ryder said.
Ryder said another indication of the market changing is the prominence of regional markets showing steady capital growth.
“Half of the locations in the National Top 50 Most Consistent Suburbs are in regional areas, but only 14 of the National Bottom 50 Worst Suburbs are in the regions,” he said.
“While our latest research seeks primarily to identify places where activity is growing and therefore with a likelihood of price growth in the near future, it also places great emphasis on locations where sales activity is steady over two, three or more years,” Ryder concluded.