74 Aussie suburbs you should invest in before prices rise

If you’re looking to invest this spring, a new report has identified the dozens of Aussie investment hot spots the experts say are poised for good rental returns. Read more and explore the full list.

Looking to invest in property this spring?

A report out late last month, by real estate analysts Hotspotting.com.au, has revealed the Aussie suburbs where prices are tipped to rise, based on their performance over the past few quarters.

Areas where prices have increased consecutively, for three or more quarters, are described as “supercharged suburbs”.

Hotspotting director Terry Ryder told News Corp Australia that, rather than looking at median prices, his company tracked rising sales patterns because they were a more reliable predictor of future price growth.

“History shows us there is a correlation between sales volumes and price movements – the number of sales changes first and prices react, with a time lag,” Mr Ryder said.

“This is true whether markets are rising or falling,” he said.

“In the case of our supercharged suburbs list, it’s fair to say that all of these are experiencing strong market conditions with many posting rising sales volumes for more than a year.”

Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights from the Hotspotting report.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

5 Bounty Rd, Hallett Cove. Picture: realestate.com.au

Eight SA suburbs made Hotspotting’s “supercharged” list, The Advertiser reported.

Hallett Cove was the best, with sales activity increasing in the past seven quarters from 57 transactions to 78.

Glenelg East, Greenacres and Para Hills West were the next best with each seeing an increase in sales over five quarters.

Harcourts Plus agent Karen Nelson said at just 25km from the city, with two train stations, a conservation park, shopping centre and several schools, she wasn’t surprised Hallett Cove came out on top.

“It’s always been a very sought-after suburb,” Ms Nelson said. .

“The buyer activity is very, very strong here but this year the buyer demand has way outstripped supply,” she said.

Read Tom Bowden’s full report and search all the SA suburbs on the list

VICTORIA

30 Black Dog Drive, Brookfield. For Herald Sun Real Estate. Photo: Ray White.

Investors looking for big returns might be better off starting small. That’s the advice from one property pundit who says apartments are set for a price renaissance.

Property pundit Terry Ryder, founder of Hotspotting.com.au, tipped affordable inner-city apartments as one of the best bets for Melbourne investors, the Herald Sun reported.

Suburbs including the CBD, North Melbourne, West Melbourne and Kensington were seeing strong sales due to strong demand for apartments close to the city, Mr Ryder said.

The appeal of units was also set to rise because investors could minimise the impact of tax hikes on landlords, which would hit houses harder than smaller homes or apartments.

Mr Ryder said apartments were also now starting to be competitive against houses for capital growth.

He said outer-ring council areas such as Melton, Casey, Wyndham, Whittlesea and Frankston were also on his radar because of their low vacancy rates and the strong demand for rental properties.

An “opportune time” to invest was when a suburb had seen one at least one to two quarters of a rise in sales activity after a period of decline, areas he defined in his research as “recovering”.

Recovering suburbs on his list included Maidstone and Cairnlea in the northwest, Doveton, Endeavour Hills, Cranbourne East and Frankston South in the southeast and Capel Sound and McCrae on the Mornington Peninsula.

Read the Herald Sun’s full coverage and search all the Victorian suburbs on the list.

NEW SOUTH WALES

A unit in this building at 36-38 Old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon Beach recently sold for $1.36m.

The Hottspotting report identified 15 Sydney suburbs poised to see capital price growth, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Many of the areas expected to perform best were higher density areas near new infrastructure and included Avalon Beach, Clovelly, Rose Bay, Waterloo, Zetland and Meadowbank.

People investing in units in these areas stood to benefit from above-average growth in prices, higher rents relative to mortgage costs and lower vacancies, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Local agents said those areas once had a glut of apartments, but with the supply of available homes drying up and construction slowing, apartments had become popular again with buyers and demand was now outstripping supply, the Telegraph reported.

“There is a plethora of reasons why apartments are increasingly becoming the property of first choice for homebuyers and investors,” Mr Ryder said.

“It’s not just about affordability,” he said.

“Our population is simply embracing apartment living more because of the opportunity to reside in more desirable locations.”

Read the Daily Telegraph’s full coverage and search all the NSW suburbs on the list.

QUEENSLAND

A property in Leone St, Bray Park, one of the “Supercharged” Queensland suburbs Hotspotting’s investment report. Picture: realestate.com.au

According to the Hotspotting report, keen Queensland investors should look to the state’s capital, the Courier Mail reported.

“Brisbane over the next five to 10 years will be the place to own,” Hotspotting director Terry Ryder said.

“There’s big infrastructure spending happening and that generates jobs and demand for real estate,” Mr Ryder said.

“And you have the Olympic Games factor that will exacerbate all of that,” he said.

Bray Park and Wellington Point made the list of Supercharged suburbs for housing, while Milton made the list units, with price growth tipped for all three areas.

Haesley Cush, director of Ray White New Farm, Bulimba, Spring Hill, Clayfield, Toowong and East Brisbane said there was an old saying in real estate; ‘zig while they zag’.

“Apartments right now are the flavour of the month but they weren’t for nearly a decade in inner-city Brisbane,” Mr Cush told the Courier Mail.

“Everyone who bought them in that decade is enjoying strong capital uplift.

“Investors should be applying that theory to other parts of the market.”

He suggested investors should consider areas where infrastructure was currently lacking, but in the works, such as Kangaroo Point and Woolloongabba.

Properties needed renovation work were also worth looking for their growth potential.

Regionally, Mr Cush said investors could get good rental returns in regional centres with strong economies and job opportunities, including Toowoomba, Townsville, Rockhampton, Glandstone and Lockyer Valley, the Courier Mail reported.

Read the Courier Mail’s full coverage and search all the Queensland suburbs on the list.

Originally published as 74 Aussie suburbs you should invest in before prices rise