Investors and first-home buyers know how to find a bargain: this is where they are looking
This spring, an influx of investors and first-home buyers has sparked heightened activity in the property market.
According to the latest data from PropTrack, certain suburbs have become hotspots based on the volume of enquiries received.
In September, lending indicators data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found the volume of new home loan commitments to investors surged by 30% compared to the same period last year.
First-home buyers also showed increased interest, with a 2% rise in new loan commitments.
This suggests confidence from both groups that now is an ideal time to buy.
A common characteristic of high-demand suburbs for first-home buyers is affordability.
None of the top suburbs for enquiries on houses and units have a median price exceeding one million dollars.
However, the locations in demand vary significantly depending on whether buyers seek houses or units.
First-home buyer hotspots
For instance, the leading suburb for first-home buyers searching for houses is Tarneit, located 30 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD in the western suburbs. Venturing this far is necessary to secure reasonably priced homes.
In Tarneit, the median house price is $650,000. This is a stark contrast to the inner Melbourne suburbs, where the median price for a modest two-bedroom house exceeds one million dollars, making the outer suburbs particularly attractive to first-home buyers.
Other Melbourne suburbs popular with first-home buyers include Point Cook, Truganina, Werribee, and Hoppers Crossing, all similar in distance from the city and median house prices.
Queensland's Greenbank, in the outer suburbs of Brisbane, also ranks high on the list.
The median house price in Greenbank is $837,000, making it more expensive than the top Melbourne suburbs but still cheaper than Brisbane's inner areas.
Sydney has only one suburb in the top ten list: Marsden Park, located 50 kilometres northwest of Sydney's CBD.
With a median house price of $985,000, Marsden Park remains relatively affordable for first-home buyers in Sydney, where budget-friendly options are scarce.
Eighty percent of the top suburbs for first-home buyers seeking units are in Sydney, with Parramatta leading the list.
For many in Sydney, buying a unit is the more viable option, as it requires a smaller deposit and fits within government incentive limits that often exclude house purchases due to their price.
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Other popular Sydney suburbs for unit-seeking first-home buyers include Ryde, Campsie, and Epping, while Southbank and Melbourne CBD attract similar interest in Melbourne.
These suburbs, closer to the CBD, reflect a preference for proximity to city life despite smaller property sizes.
Investor hotspots
Investors show similar trends. With the exception of Blacktown, the preferred suburbs for house enquiries are under one million dollars and mainly located in outer city regions.
Conversely, investors seeking units favour inner-city suburbs, including Sydney CBD, where the median price is above the one-million-dollar mark.
The suburb with the highest demand for houses is Battery Hill on the Sunshine Coast, with a median price of $965,000.
Similarly, Tarneit in VIC, Greenbank in QLD, and Point Cook in VIC are equally popular with both investors and first-home buyers, indicating a shared recognition of affordability hotspots in Melbourne and Sydney.
Melbourne CBD and Parramatta, NSW, are also in high demand among investors.
Affordability is a prime concern for both investors and first-home buyers especially as home values continue to reach new heights.
In October national home prices reached a record high, after rising 0.3% over the month to sit 5.6% higher than a year ago.
Those seeking houses are willing to look farther from the city where land is cheaper, while those wanting proximity to the vibrant inner city and investors aiming for low-maintenance, rentable properties prefer closer suburbs.
Overall, the property market is showing clear preferences driven by affordability and location, dictating where first-home buyers and investors are most active this spring.
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