Brinkin to rival the prestige for beloved suburbs Nightcliff and Rapid Creek

PROPERTY professionals have said a certain north coastal area is fast becoming one of the most sought-after suburbs in the area, rivalling Nightcliff and Rapid Creek

8 Farquhar Street, Muirhead sold for $1,091,000 by Real Estate Central. Picture: SUPPLIED

SET minutes away from the city and just a short stroll from the beach or harbour promenade, Darwin’s northern coastal suburbs are the embodiment of location, location, location.

Beloved and classic established beachside suburbs Nightcliff and Rapid Creek hold some of the city’s most sought-after addresses, while newer homes in Muirhead and Lyons are appealing to families with a new home budget.

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Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory data for the June quarter showed the area

had a 25.9 per cent increase in house sales, with the median house price increasing by 11.7 per cent to $575,000.

LJ Hooker sales representative Jen Wardell said Brinkin stood out as the leading water-facing suburb for its “hard-to-beat” location.

Jen Wardell has been named the NT's favourite real estate agent by NT News readers. Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

“Brinkin is at the edge of the Casuarina Coastal Reserve, giving its residents easy access to miles of golden beaches, grassed picnic areas and some of the world’s best sunsets,” Ms Wardell said.

“There are no suburbs past Brinkin so from a traffic point of view the suburb is very quiet,

with most traffic being local, other than the thousands of people that visit the foreshore every week.”

Elders residential property consultant Derek Hart said one of the biggest drawcards to Brinkin and nearby suburbs Lyons and Muirhead was the proximity to Royal Darwin Hospital, with many workers living in these areas. “Property demand here is very much linked to the hospitals,” he said.

“People who work there are wanting to buy in those areas close to the hospital but for people who aren’t connected to the hospital it’s the location, it’s central to everything.”

8 Farquhar Street, Muirhead sold for $1,091,000 by Real Estate Central. Picture: SUPPLIED

Ms Wardell identified Moil, Tiwi and Wagaman as some of the area’s most affordable suburbs.

“Many of these homes are now around

40 years old and could use some updating. However, unlike the suburbs closer to the coast and other amenity, these suburbs have had less properties updated and renovated,” she said.

“This means many homes come to the market at lower prices due to the work required to freshen them up, and because they’re further away from the popular amenity of the area.”

Mr Hart believed the majority of Darwin North coastal suburbs had immense potential for growth in value given the opportunity to renovate and expand.

“In areas like Wanguri, Alawa, they’ve got big blocks and they can expand the house, there’s room for the third or fourth car, the boat,” he said.

Derek Hart Elders Real Estate profile at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, for Territory Living magazine. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

“You’ve got that land capacity to accommodate that. People do renovations and expand and put granny flats in to accommodate the expanding family.”

However, Ms Wardell urged buyers to turn their eyes to Tiwi, which she said had the foundations of Brinkin and Muirhead but needed work to bring housing standards up.

“Since the fundamentals of the location are so good, once the housing stock in the suburb starts to gentrify there is significant opportunities for the suburb to grow in value as a whole,” she said.

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“This will likely have a snowball effect on values as more and more people feel confident to purchase in the area for the purpose of substantially renovating the old home, or knocking the dwelling down and starting again.

“The neighbouring suburbs of Lyons and Muirhead are testament to people’s willingness to invest significant sums of money in the area.”

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