The City of Canterbury a leading contender for best performer of 2013
If they were handing out awards for market performance in 2013, the Sydney municipality of Canterbury would be a leading contender.
Most suburbs in the City of Canterbury delivered double-digit growth, both in their median house prices and their median unit prices.
Campsie recorded an 11% rise in its median hosue price ($730,000) and a 15% rise in its median price for apartments ($430,000, based on 260 sales in 12 months, making it the leading volume market in the city).
Lakemba, another popular market because of its affordability and its above-average rental returns, recorded 205 apartment sales at a median price of $295,000, up 11%. The suburb’s median house price ($550,000) also grew 11% during the year, a solid performance despite the highly-visible presence of one of Australia’s largest mosques – which, according to a widely-held view amongst the hysterical, should be a barrier to capital growth.
The median yield for Lakemba apartments, according to Australian Property Monitors figures, is 6.3%. Nearby Wiley Park, another popular suburb for affordable apartments (median price $300,000), has a median yields for units of 6.4%, well above the Sydney average.
The best growth in this precinct was recorded by Narwee, where the median house price grew 17% to $700,000; Canterbury, where the median house price rose 16% to $770,000; and Croydon, which lifted its median unit price 15% to $520,000.
Other suburbs with strong growth in the City of Canterbury include Earlwood, Hurlstone Park, Wiley Park and Roselands.
This precinct is clearly popular for its relatively affordable apartments, with annual unit sales (902) almost matching house sales (1,005).
Units are likely to overtake houses, with dwelling approvals in recent years being dominated by new apartment projects. Approvals rose from 194 in FY2011 to 424 in FY2012 and 655 in FY2013, most of them for apartments.
This area is another example of the “town planning revolution” sweeping capital city Australia. Changes to the City of Canterbury Local Environment Plan, which came into effect this month, allow more high-density residential development in areas that were traditionally industrial precincts. Developers have moved in quickly, creating considerable building activity.
A high level of urban renewal activity is happening in the municipality, with a number of new apartment developments focused in particular on Cooks River.
It’s the latest episode in the evolution of one of Sydney’s most colourful areas, where half of residents were born overseas and the cuisine on offer includes Lebanese, Moroccan, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Pakistani, Indonesian, Korean and Sydney’s only Cocos and Christmas Island restaurant.
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au and you can contact Terry via email or on Twitter.