‘Bang for your buck’: June quarter’s home pricing push

Seven in 10 greater Hobart suburbs have posted quarterly median price increases — did your home’s value grow?

GROWTH has outstripped declines by a wide margin across greater Hobart’s housing market.

Fresh June quarter figures from PropTrack show 32 suburbs where the median house value recorded an uptick, 14 in decline and two that were unchanged.

The city’s unit market had 16 growth suburbs and just three in decline.

Outside the capital, the results were similar for houses — 34 growth against 22 in decline — however the data for regional units showed eight in decline and one with a pricing increase.

The growth in some suburbs was tiny, such as 0.1 per cent in North Hobart. However, the data shows 17 areas, houses or units, with quarterly growth above 2 per cent and as high as 8.1 per cent.

PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said an increasing number of suburbs recording growth could be an indicator that the market is turning.

“We saw a price correction happen in Hobart following the pandemic, combined with slowing demand from interstate buyers and interest rate increases — it re-set the growth trend,” she said. “Now it looks like the market is stabilising.”

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PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty.

Tasmania’s best performing suburb was Margate, where house values increased by 8.1 per cent quarterly and a whopping 13 per cent annually.

The next highest quarterly increases were in Mount Nelson and Sandy Bay houses at 7.9 per cent and 6.6 per cent. Annually, houses in Smithton increased by 9.6 per cent, and Blackmans Bay 5.7 per cent.

New Haus director Ed McKay said the Margate figures were fantastic, if not entirely surprising.

He said the Margate lifestyle is attractive to many buyers.

“The higher end of the Margate, close to Kingston, offers a spread of properties in the $1.2m-$1.5m range, those desirable five-acre lifestyle properties,” he said.

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“Margate is fairly close to the city, but offers a more rural life with more space compared to nearby suburbs. Yet it still has all the conveniences like a good primary school, a bakery, dentist, cafes, parks and a boat ramp all at hand.

“It already ticks a lot of boxes for families. And that will only increase in popularity with the addition of a new shopping complex to be completed this year.”

This 2.76ha property at No.17 Poimena Dr, Margate was listed for sale with New Haus Agency at $1.35m-plus and is now under offer. Picture: Supplied

Mr McKay said the high quality of the stock that is available in Margate would contribute to growing prices.

“It comes down to lifestyle, desirable properties, large land and getting so much bang for your buck,” he said.

New Haus Agency director Ed McKay.

Ms Flaherty said it was not uncommon to see suburbs that outperform the rest of the market.

“These areas draw more interest from buyers, for a range of reasons, including some buyers in Margate who might have been priced out of neighbouring Blackmans Bay, which has recorded extraordinary price growth in recent years,” she said.

No.215 Churchill Ave, Sandy Bay was listed with Petrusma Property at $2.6m-plus. It was sold this week. It’s price is currently undisclosed.

No.13 Rialannah Rd, Mount Nelson hit the market at "Offers over $1.15m" and was sold by Elders Tasmania for $1.25m. Picture: Supplied

Meanwhile, the latest PropTrack Market Outlook Report forecast greater Hobart home prices to hold steady or increase by up to 3 per cent in FY25.

Ms Flaherty said the forecast was “very realistic” based on the price growth seen at the moment and the increased stock on the market.

“Unlike most other states, the supply of new housing in Hobart is keeping up with population growth. That’s extremely unusual,” she said.

Originally published as ‘Bang for your buck’: June quarter’s home pricing push