Campbelltown property the hot ticket for FHBs

The region’s relative affordability appeared attractive to younger cohorts, with 37 per cent of homes purchased in the region during the third quarter of the year were done so by buyers aged 30 to 39 – this figure dropping to 32 per cent among 20- to 29-year-olds.

Boasting a median house price of approximately $790,000, according to PropTrack 28 per cent of properties purchased over the three months to September were priced between $700,000 and $800,000.

Interestingly, in Queensland, it was rural location Gracemere, which lies within Rockhampton, that was the Sunshine State’s most popular purchasing suburb throughout Q3 for all buyer types.

“This is the second consecutive quarter Gracemere has appeared in Queensland’s top 10 locations, and it has seen significant growth in the past three months,” Mr Bailie said.

Discussing both Gracemere and Campbelltown’s performances in the three months to September, Mr Bailie believes “these movements show that locations outside of the metro areas are becoming more desirable for those seeking more affordable properties”.

Despite recent news coming out about Perth indicating that a shortage of housing listings is inspiring a renaissance of unit and strata property investing, InfoTrack’s data found that over on the east coast, houses remained the most popular dwelling type purchase in both NSW and Queensland, holding respective market shares of 44 per cent and 53 per cent.

However, when analysing the activity of NSW first home buyers, InfoTrack found strata owner-occupied properties were the most popular purchase, making up 48 per cent of all FHB Q3 activity, as opposed to houses’ 47 per cent share.

Sandra Falzon, general manager of marketing and e-commerce at InfoTrack, said a deeper dive into NSW’s first home buyer activity revealed a “quarter-on-quarter decline in house profitability for this specific segment”.