‘Pretty wow’: Sydney’s most-searched suburbs by home hunters

Homes across a string of waterfront suburbs have been revealed as Sydney’s most in-demand properties, with house hunters jumping on new listings in the desirable pockets.

Northwood and Kurraba Point on the lower north shore topped the list of most in-demand suburbs in Domain’s NSW Spotlight Report, with property listings there attracting more buyer interest on average than anywhere else in Greater Sydney.

Homes in Northwood had the highest average views per listing on Domain over the past three months.

Nearby Lavender Bay was also among the 10 suburbs with the highest average views per listing over the three months to May, as were Whale Beach and Clontarf on the northern beaches, Birchgrove and Canada Bay in the inner west and Patonga and Mooney Mooney Creek on the Central Coast.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said the most in-demand suburbs were all in coastal pockets, bar one – the trendy inner-city suburb of Darlington, which rounded out the top 10.

Darlington was the only non-seaside suburb to make the top 10. Credit: Edwina Pickles

It spoke to the demand and value of properties with proximity to the ocean, Powell said, and the subsequent price tag they could fetch.

Watsons Bay, Balmain East, Lilyfield, Annandale, Castlecrag, Clareville and Beaconsfield were also among the suburbs with higher views per listing, all making the top 20.

“There is an element of having a sticky beak of what is on the market, in particularly dreamy areas where we aspire to reside,” Powell said of the data.

But it also reflects strong levels of buyer interest, she added, noting it tied in with further property search insights that showed waterfront and views were among the top keywords Sydney buyers searched for.

Powell said many areas on the list were smaller suburbs with a limited supply of homes, which could increase demand for available properties. Only suburbs with a minimum of five listings over the three-month period were included.

“There’s obviously high interest there, and they could be hard suburbs to break into because they are smaller,” she said.

The views on offer in Lavender Bay made it a popular choice for buyers. Credit: Domain

Buyers’ agent Henny Stier, of OH Property Group, said north shore suburbs like Kurraba Point, Northwood and Lavender Bay were small and tightly held.

“Not much supply comes up, and they are considered premium suburbs,” she said, adding that out-of-area buyers and local upgraders often waited years for their dream home to come onto the market in these areas.

Most buyers looking to these suburbs were executives and professionals, generally upgrading to their third or fourth house, Stier said. Views or water access were key for most.

“These are really your blue chip areas, with blue ribbon real estate that is out of reach for average buyers,” she said.

It was a similar story in Whale Beach, said Peter Robinson of LJ Hooker Palm Beach. Homes were tightly held, with a limited number hitting the market each year, and even fewer listings than usual available over the past six to 12 months.

“Then the ones that do come up are pretty wow … so there are a lot of clicks,” Robinson said. “In the past I would have said it was a lot of sticky beaks or buyers … dreaming of what they could one day own, but saying that, in the last 12 months I’ve never had more buyers with $10 million-plus to spend in this area.”

Third most popular: Whale Beach on Thursday. Credit: Jessica Hromas

Demand also outstripped supply in more affordable Patonga, Robinson said. Both it and Whale Beach had experienced increased interest from holiday home buyers and sea changers throughout the pandemic, as the rise of remote working boosted demand for lifestyle locations, particularly those still in proximity to the city.

Meanwhile, suburbs like Vineyard and Carramar in the city’s west, and Marsden Park in the north-west – where there are more than 300 properties on the market – had the lowest average number of views per listing.