Young families dominate beaches market buying their first house
Three quarters of the buyers at northern beaches auctions over the weekend were first home buyers upsizing from an apartment — with some waiting years for the chance to buy a house.
Four of the five northern beaches properties to sell at auction on Saturday went to young couples buying their first house.
For the first time in months freestanding houses have been within reach of young local families and they are leaping into the market after months of watching and waiting.
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Young married couple Bradley and Elke had been looking for three years, noticed the market drop late last year, saved like mad by moving in with a relative and managed to secure their first house at the weekend. They paid $1,235,000 for a four-bedroom house in Collaroy Plateau.
“We were looking at up to 11 properties a weekend, started to see price drops before the end of last year and then again at the beginning of this year,” Elke said.
The couple loved the Plateau but never dreamt they could afford to buy there.
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“We liked the style of the house but we also loved the space and seeing Riley playing in the yard, after we only had a balcony made us realise a garden was what we wanted,” she said.
The couple’s 18-month-old son Riley was a big motivation for the couple to buy a house with a garden.
Four groups registered to buy the four-bedroom house at 122 Parkes Rd, Collaroy Plateau on Saturday, bidding opened at $1.1 million and two bidders competed.
Stephen Murace, of Doyle Spillane, said at the market peak the Collaroy Plateau house would have sold for $1.5 million.
“The gap is smaller between selling a unit and buying a house now and we are finding more people upsizing,” he said.
Another young family from Balgowlah bought their first house at 3 Lolita Ave, Forestville paying $1.15 million for the older home at auction on Saturday.
A young couple coming out of a Manly Vale apartment bought 69 Roosevelt Ave, Allambie on Saturday paying $1,975 million.
And the fourth sale on the weekend was 16 Oceana St East, Dee Why where a young couple coming out of a unit paid $1,435,000 for the four-bedroom house.
According to CoreLogic five properties sold on the northern beaches on Saturday, seven homes sold early and four were withdrawn.
Originally published as Young families dominate beaches market buying their first house