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Market Report: NSW real estate update, October 2018

October 8, 2018

If you’re seeking an NSW real estate hotspot this spring, look no further than the state’s Central Coast.

According to realestate.com.au, the famous coastal region, just an hour north of Sydney will continue to buck the state’s real estate trends.

While the local market is currently experiencing a slight drop, a home value forecast report by Moody’s Analytics has suggested that the Central Coast market, which stretches from Umina in the south and north to Lake Macquarie will rise by 3.6% in 2018 and 8% in 2019.

Brett Hunter, Principal of Raine & Horne Terrigal, Avoca Beach, and Saratoga, said the Central Coast has all the makings of a ‘buck the trend’ marketplace. He explains, “The Central Coast is a truly heterogeneous marketplace ranging from entry-level homes through to magnificent waterfronts on Pearl, Avoca and Terrigal beaches.

“We have multiple markets working in a small geographic area. So, when one market takes a breather, activity in a different market will pick up the slack. Currently, the first home buyer, downsizer and the investor markets are going gangbusters and driving along average values for the region. We always have people buying holiday homes, so the Central Coast market is quite liquid. We are never reliant on one type of buyer.”

Investment by state and local governments in infrastructure such as North Connex tunnel that will reduce door-to-desk commute times to Sydney is also good news for the region’s real estate market. There are also new state-of-the-art buildings to house the Australian Tax Office and the NSW Department of Finance, Services and Innovation (DFSI) in Gosford. “Savvy investors recognise the Central Coast has the attractive combination of population growth and new utilities working in its favour.”

Brett who is also the vice president of the state’s peak real estate body, REINSW, says some of the same fundamental driving the Central Coast market apply to Wollongong and the south coast. “Like the Central Coast, those living in Wollongong have a digestible commute to the city and a magnificent coastal lifestyle.”

Inner Sydney off-the-plan apartments is another market showing decent activity if not capital growth at this stage, according to Brett. “There is still strong demand for off-the-plan apartment developments in Sydney. We are solving our population problem with a strata solution, which is the only way a global city such as Sydney can go.”