Suburbs for sale

PORTFOLIO POINT: Melbourne’s busiest selling activity is happening in its inner and outer suburbs, an exclusive survey finds.
This week we look at which suburbs throughout the country have the most properties listed for sale.

In a Eureka Report exclusive, RP Data has gathered information on suburbs facing a property glut. The data shows the greatest number of stock on the market can be found in the outer suburbs of our capital cities.

Looking to buy in Sydney or Melbourne? In Australia’s two largest cities, six suburbs in the outer suburbs are in the top 10.

In Sydney, most of the suburbs are coastal areas that have shown positive median price growth over the past year.

There are some interesting additions to the top 10 NSW list: the northern coastal town of Port Macquarie (which recorded negative median price growth during the last year) and the mining town of Broken Hill. Properties are also readily available in the agricultural areas of Goulburn and Tamworth.

Interestingly, units in Melbourne proper have well and truly topped the Victorian list, with 390 listings. This is probably a reflection of the apartment boom started in the 1990s to encourage people to live and work in the city. There are also plenty of houses for sale in the more affordable Melbourne outer suburbs, which have recorded positive median price growth over the past year.

In regional Victoria, however, properties in the La Trobe Valley (near the power stations) and Mildura (in the north-west) both recorded negative median price growth over the past 12 months.

Over to the boom state of WA, nine of the 10 suburbs with the biggest number of listings were within the greater Perth area, or just outside Mandurah. Median house prices fell over the year, except for houses and units in Scarborough, and Mandurah and Bunbury units.

It’s a different story in the Sunshine State, with only one Brisbane suburb making the list, the recently developed suburb of Forest Lake. Two suburbs on the Gold Coast and four on the Gold Coast recorded a large number of properties on the market. Most Queensland suburbs have recorded growth in median prices over the past year, except units in Surfers Paradise and houses in Noosaville.

Meanwhile, newer estates on the outskirts of Canberra, and suburbs in and around Adelaide dominated their respective lists. House and unit prices in Canberra rose across the board over the 12 months, while there are plenty of units available in Adelaide and Glenelg, as well as the regional areas of Whyalla and Mount Gambier. For Darwin, all suburbs have recorded positive median growth for houses over the past year.

Tim Lawless is research director at RP Data.