Young buyers are changing the face of the north shore

POCKETS OF Sydney’s north are calling out for a taste of inner west living. A recent influx of younger buyers is driving lifestyle change in these sleepy ‘burbs — and step one will be avocado on toast for everyone.

Sleepy north shore suburbs like Killara and Lindfield are bracing for an avo-lanche as younger buyers increasingly want more cafes, bars and restaurants.

Killara may be about to be hit by an avo-lanche, as younger and apartment buyers are driving more lifestyle options on the north shore.

Smashed avocado will no doubt be on the menu at the new cafe that will soon open on the site of Killara’s old post office. The DA for the site was approved in August 2017 by Ku-ring-gai Council, with plans to keep the building’s historic appeal.

Ray White Gordon-St Ives agent Ari Akbarian said having a trendy cafe at the site would give the area something new.

“It will allow people to have a meeting point, but also grab a coffee before catching the train,” he told the North Shore Times.

Closed in 2001, the old Killara Post Office has received approval by local council to become a trendy cafe. Picture: Danielle Butters

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Lifestyle additions make a suburb standout for buyers, particularly younger ones, he said.

“If there is more choice to get out and do something, it will increase the appeal of the suburb and makes it more attractive to live there,” he said.

While no completion date has been set for the new cafe, neighbouring Lindfield is also undergoing plenty of change, driven by the growing apartment market.

McConnell Bourn Lindfield selling agent Scott Farquhar said projects such as the new cafes and a Harris Farm improves Linfield’s appeal.

“Lifestyle is one of those things buyers, especially younger ones want. Areas such as Lindfield and Killara didn’t really have it, so buyers had no choice but to look elsewhere,” he said.

Lindfield Village by Aqualand are some of the apartments driving the lifestyle change.

As more younger people move into the area, places such as Lindfield could receive more bars, cafes and restaurants.

Data from Cordell shows there is a dozen of DAs approved or unapproved for townhouses across Lindfield and Killara to be completed in the coming years which, Mr Akbarian said, would change the suburb’s ambience.

“Apartments bring younger people to the neighbourhood and they want to be able to go down the road to a bar, cafe or even a restaurant,” he said. “They also want to be able to do things at night like in the inner west, instead of living somewhere where it is lights out like what the north shore can be known for.”

A central community hub was something which had been missing in Lindfield and Killara, Mr Farquhar said.

Originally published as Young buyers are changing the face of the north shore