In Data We Trust

Where are the Hot Suburbs?

November 18, 2020
Jeremy Sheppard

Australian Hot Market Summary

NSW has the largest number of top growth markets in the country. Sydney alone has 53 of the top 250. But the Canberra – Queanbeyan area has the highest concentration of hot suburbs with 51.

The prior diagram shows the split up of the top 250 into each area. The top right of the chart shows the area with the most markets, which was Sydney. The bottom right shows the lowest number was in Geelong, with only 1 representative in the top 250.

To come up with this data, I started by finding the top 250 markets in the country according to their demand to supply ratio (DSR+). Then I split them up into significant urban areas. To keep the count of areas down, I excluded any area with a population less than 100,000. This meant some pretty hot markets missed the cut:

NSW & Sydney

NSW was heavily represented, but not just because of Sydney. There were more hot suburbs outside Sydney than within it. Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong are all tough markets for buyers right now.

I went a step further and split the hot suburbs in Sydney by price range. The vast majority are over the mil mark.

The growth markets in Sydney at the moment are mostly in the upper end. But there are still opportunities as low as 600k.

If half a mil is your budget, there are plenty of opportunities in Newcastle and the Central Coast.

Wollongong’s growth suburbs are also in the top end of town like with Sydney.

Victoria & Melbourne

Melbourne was thinly represented, which is understandable given the extended lock-down.

Again, it seems to be the affluent suburbs that have the most heat. This is common at the start of booms. The growth then tends to ripple over into more affordable areas towards the end of the boom.

Geelong, Bendigo and Swan Hill also made the top 250 list with 1 suburb each.

QLD & Brisbane

Brisbane has been really heating up since lock-downs have lifted. And there’s a broad spectrum of prices to pick from. But once again, not much under a half mil.

But there’s heat across South-East Queensland. The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast each had a few representatives in the top 250.

Once again, the best growth prospects are in the expensive suburbs of these areas.

Adelaide

Adelaide has some of the hottest suburbs in the country and is one of the more affordable cities too. The majority of hot markets here are actually under 500K. But that’s quite pricey by Adelaide standards.

Canberra – Queanbeyan

Canberra has the highest concentration of hot suburbs with 51. The entire area only has about 150 suburbs in total. Canberra has one fifth the number of Suburbs as Sydney but about the same number of hot ones.

It’s not hard to find a house under 600K in the Canberra – Queanbeyan region. But most of the truly hot suburbs are in the high end of town.

About 1 in 3 suburbs in Canberra appear in the top 250. And the highest DSR+ scores for October 2020 were found in Canberra (and Adelaide).

Conclusion

Things are heating up for a country-wide boom. There are opportunities almost everywhere, in cities and regional markets. Previously unaffordable top-end suburbs are now within reach and are getting a lot of attention now interest rates are so low.

Commentary by

JEREMY SHEPPARD

Director of Select Residential Property
Founder of DSR Data

“Capital growth is the ants pants of property investing.”

In Data We Trust

Where are the Hot Suburbs?

Australian Hot Market Summary

NSW & Sydney

Victoria & Melbourne

QLD & Brisbane

Adelaide

Canberra – Queanbeyan

Conclusion

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