Sydney’s most searched suburbs to buy in 2024
Sydney’s most popular suburbs to buy a house have been revealed, so if you’re looking to sell in these areas, you’re in luck. Find out if your suburb is in the top 10.
A handful of Sydney suburbs have seen a spike in online property searches, with the latest metro infrastructure helping bring new postcodes into the minds of prospective buyers.
Castle Hill has emerged as Sydney’s most sought after suburb, according to PropTrack’s analysis of online searches across 2024 on property portal realestate.com.au, while nearby Hills Shire suburbs Kellyville and Baulkham Hills also made the top five.
Local real estate agent, Shire Realty’s Aaron Godfrey, said the new metro had been a “game changer” in opening the suburbs up to city workers.
It comes as high interest rates and rising living costs have failed to dampen Sydney’s property prices, with a recent analysis revealing Sydney home seekers needed to earn an average of over $280,000 to buy a median priced house in the Harbour City and over $160,000 to snag a median priced unit.
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Pandemic trends of wanting more space had also lingered in the years since.
“It's a lifestyle thing,” Mr Godfrey said. “You can get a decent quality house on a large block of land (in the Hills) with pools and plenty of space,” he said.
Castle Hill’s median house price was $2.3m while Kellyville and Baulkham Hills houses were both priced around $1.9m.
Buyers were typically upgraders, searching for large family homes with at least four bedrooms, interested in the access to popular schools, parks and bushland, according to Mr Godfrey.
Mosman was the second most sought after area for buyers. While the lower north shore suburb has some of the most expensive and best luxury waterfronts in the country, Atlas real estate agent Michael Coombs said the area appealed to a wide range of buyers across different market brackets.
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“Its like five suburbs in one,” he said. “Its quite central, you’re near the beaches, you’ve got cafes and restaurants lifestyle and its easy access to the city,” he said.
Mosman’s median house price has now hit $6m, but a median unit was $1.4m, which catered towards young professional first home buyers and investors, Mr Coombs added.
Other suburbs in the top 10 most popular included Paddington, Surry Hills, Manly, Cronulla and Epping.
An affordable enclave at the top of home seeker’s minds was Blacktown, the fifth most searched suburb. Homebuyers in the western suburb could find a median priced house for just over $1m, somewhat of a rarity now as Sydney’s median price for a house has crept up to $1.44m, according to PropTrack data. Apartments in Blacktown were also sitting at a more affordable median price of $510,000.
Blacktown local and real estate agent, Monique Layoun from McGrath Blacktown, said price was the biggest driver in the area.
“A lot of it comes down to affordability,” Ms Layoun said. “Especially compared to some other surrounding suburbs. For example in Parramatta you can get a three-bedroom apartment for the same price you can get a three-bedroom freestanding house here.”
Most of the property seekers in Blacktown were either first home buyers trying to get their foot in the market, or investors looking for a good deal.
“I’ve found for families, having a backyard is really important,” she said.
“Its also the easy access, you’re half an hour from the city now with the tunnel, 15 mins to Parramatta and 20 minutes from Penrith, it really is that centre point.”
Blacktown local Renee Booth loved the area for the convenience. She and her partner Nick purchased their home when they were just 23 and then completely renovated the property.
“I had a realisation if I can buy a house that’s only 30-40 minutes from the city that’s pretty great,” she said.
The couple fully renovated the home themselves, turning a rundown three-bedroom home into a luxury four-bedroom house with premium design features.
“It was quite affordable too, and even now that prices have gone crazy, they (Blacktown prices) are still very reasonable being so close to the city.”
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Originally published as Sydney’s most searched suburbs to buy in 2024