Fears northern beaches housing market will soon resemble a ghost town

EXPERTS hold grave fears that a Sydney region is starting to resemble a ghost town, with research showing a whopping 20 per cent of homes are vacant in two of the area’s suburbs.

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ONE in ten homes on the northern beaches is empty, fuelling fears that large chunks of the area will resemble a ghost town.

Some areas are worse than others, with Avalon-Palm Beach topping the list with 20 per cent of homes unoccupied.

This is followed by Bayview-Elanora Heights with 16 per cent of homes ­unoccupied and Manly-Fairlight with 14 per cent empty, University of NSW researchers reveal.

Research shows 20% of homes are vacant in Avalon.

Associate Dr Laurence Troy said there was a definite trend for owners to sit on an empty property and wait for the capital growth, rather than make an ­immediate income from rent.

“There is not a great incentive to rent them (the expensive empty properties),” he told the Manly Daily.

The figures come from 2011 Census data that was analysed by researchers at the UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre.

They show that of the 92,625 northern beaches properties surveyed, 8412 were unoccupied.

Pockets of the peninsula, including Palm Beach and Seaforth, are renowned for their “lockup and leave” holiday homes, and many of these are multi-million dollar properties.

Research shows 20% of homes are vacant in Palm Beach Picture: Toby Zerna

Dr Troy said it was concerning to see areas closer to the city, like Manly-Fairlight, with such a high rate of unoccupied dwellings, when housing availability and affordability is such a major issue for Sydney.

In fact, Manly-Fairlight was second only to the Sydney CBD, Haymarket and The Rocks, when looked at as part of all regions close to the city.

Potts Point-Woolloomooloo, Darlinghurst and Neutral Bay-Kirribilli also had vacancy rates over 13 per cent.

“There need to be extra measures to facilitate change, and part of that would include the provision of disincentives to leaving properties empty.

One in ten homes on the northern beaches is empty

“Some countries impose extra levies or taxes when properties are left empty for a period of time,” Dr Troy said.

A study in Melbourne last year, which analysed water usage, suggested more than 80,000 properties, or 4.8 per cent of the city’s housing stock, appeared to be unused.

The issue of “ghost houses” left empty by often foreign buyers willing to forgo significant rental income has been a cause of controversy, although much data remains anecdotal.

Jason Anderson, chief economist with leading property advisory MacroPlan Dimasi, has estimated that a further 10,000 new homes will be purchased and left empty by Chinese buyers over the next five years.

Canada and Singapore, facing the same phenomenon, have proposed different solutions. Singapore imposes a 16 per cent investment tax on ghost houses, while in Vancouver there is a proposal to impose a property tax on all homes, with homeowners who live in or rent the property exempt.

HOME VACANCIES

Avalon-Palm Beach: 20%

Bayview-Elanora Heights: 16%

Manly-Fairlight: 14%

Newport-Bilgola: 9%

Narrabeen-Collaroy; Freshwater-Brookvale: 8%

Balgowlah-Clontarf-Seaforth; Dee Why-North Curl Curl; Warriewood-Mona Vale; Terrey Hills-Duffys Forest: 7%

Manly Vale-Allambie Heights: 6%

Forestville-Killarney Heights; Frenchs Forest-Belrose; Cromer: 5%

Beacon Hill-Narraweena: 4%

Source: UNSW, Census