A new report has listed Heidelberg Heights, Sunshine West and Fawkner as Melbourne’s best affordable housing investment suburbs right now.
The Property Affordability 2016 Hotspot Report came from PRD Nationwide and it’s highlighted future infrastructure spending earmarked for these suburbs as the driver for their hotspot status.
“We found that there was an extraordinary amount of infrastructure scheduled in the north and western areas, which lays an excellent foundation for further commercial and residential developments there – and thus future growth,” PRD’s Diaswati Mardiasmo told Domain.
“Basically we look at past growth and potential for future growth, to ensure that hotspots are not one-hit wonders,” he said.
The hotspots were all located within 17kms of the city providing opportunity for affordable investment that wasn’t too far from the CBD.
The report said Heidelberg Heights and Sunshine West were set to both see over $30 million each injected into new local developments.
Hocking Stuart’s Ivanhoe director Walter Ortner told Domain investors were catching on to Heidelberg Height’s already existing infrastructure and growth potential.
“The reputation of West Heidelberg and Heidelberg Heights is rapidly disappearing, because you’ve got younger families doing up all those homes,” he said.
Mr Ortner said the area was also benefitting from families who were being priced out of neighbouring Heidelberg and Ivanhoe.
“I just see Heidelberg Heights as continuing to improve – you can’t be surrounded by houses commonly selling for two to three million without that impacting on adjoining suburbs,” he told Domain.
Sunshine West was also benefitting from a similar flow-on effect from in-demand Sunshine and Albion and feeding off the fact it was in walking distance to amenities there.
There’s also a predominance of renovation-friendly houses in Sunshine West and the process of gentrification in the area was noticeably underway.
As for Fawkner, Nelson Alexander’s Joseph Russo said the huge blocks common in the suburb were proving popular with buyers who couldn’t break into the Brunswick, Coburg and Pascoe vale markets.
“It’s really first home buyers looking in that below-$600,000 range,” he told Domain.
“You can’t find block sizes of 600 or 700 square metres in Coburg, and if you do, you’d be looking at over a million.”
