Property investors are increasingly eyeing out opportunities to snap up real estate next year, but most will be avoiding Sydney.
A recent poll of economists by comparison site Finder.com.au revealed most would not buy in Sydney and would consider Brisbane and Melbourne instead.
Finder insights manager Graham Cooke said it was a surprise to see Sydney overlooked considering it was the nation’s largest city.
“While Melbourne and Brisbane are strong candidates for the most promising property market in Australia, it is a bit stunning to see Sydney perform relatively poorly,” he said.
Sydney’s falling out of favour with investors may be price-related: city prices are an average of $200,000 higher than in Melbourne, despite the cities being a similar size.There is an even bigger gap between Sydney and Brisbane prices: a typical Brisbane house would cost about $535,000, while one in Sydney would cost $910,000, according to Realestate.com.au research.
Another survey by Your Investment Property magazine revealed 68 per cent of investors considered it a good time to be purchasing property but Melbourne and Brisbane were considered safer bets.
Melbourne topped the list of preferences in the poll of 1800 investors spread across the country, with 39 per cent claiming they were considering a purchase there.
Brisbane was the favourite for 37 per cent of investors polled. Sydney was the choice of 11 per cent of respondents.
Brisbane has also been getting more popular as an investment choice. Picture: Brisbane Tourism
The two most popular property investing strategies were to invest for long-term capital growth and “buy, add value and hold”.
About two in five respondents wanted to purchase a freestanding house.
Only 2 per cent wanted to buy a property off-the-plan – a property category that made headlines throughout 2019 following revelations of dangerous cracking in numerous apartment buildings.
They included the Opal Tower in Sydney suburb Homebush, along with Mascot Towers in the city’s south. Residents in both buildings had to be evacuated over safety concerns.
SOURCE: Aidan Devine, Realestate.com 24th December 2020