Suburb spotlight: Lakemba presents affordable options for owner occupiers

Lakemba is located 15 kilometres south-west of Sydney's CBD, in the Canterbury local council area.

It's bordered by Wiley Park to the west and Belmore to the east. Lakemba railway station, in the centre of the suburb, is serviced by the Bankstown line. The 450 bus also delivers residents to Burwood, through Roselands and Strathfield and to Hurstville, via Roselands.

This year, as buyers increasingly focussed on Sydney's middle ring western suburbs to find affordable properties, Domain Group senior economist Andrew Wilson says Lakemba saw strong results.

"The numbers look very good for Lakemba," says Wilson. Australian Property Monitors recorded a median house price of $750,000 in Lakemba for the six months to November, up from $645,000 in the previous period.

The three bedroom house below sold for $750,000 in late November. The brick house on a 534 square metre plot had been held by the vendors for 23 years. They paid $149,000 for the house in 1991.

In the six months to November 2014, median unit values increased from $337,750 to $360,000, according to Australian Property Monitors.

"That's very strong growth," he says. Wilson predicts the strong growth will continue next year, but will eventually slow.

"Sydney's still set to be the best performer of all the capitals next year. There's still a lot of energy in the market.

"Generally, Sydney house price growth is declining, from double figures over the last two years, per year.  It's gone from around 15% per year to 11%, and next year will probably see around 7% growth.

"Most suburbs will move in line with that. Lakemba, particularly in units, still has a close to double figure growth left in it," he explains.

According to Wilson, units in Lakemba are still in a range generally considered to be affordable, particularly given the suburb's location and local amenities.

A two bedroom apartment in the eight-unit complex pictured below sold for $358,000 in early December. The elevated ground floor unit with a registered car space was bought by the vendor just a year and a half ago, for $260,000. In that time, after receiving fresh floorboards and new carpet in the bedrooms, its value has increased by 37.7%.

"Inner middle ring suburbs in Sydney always attract buyers, and it's all part of that search for more affordable options," says Wilson.

"The area is well serviced by transport and infrastructure, and of course, the NSW economy is doing very well.

The area's main retail strip is along Haldon Street, with a variety of stores and restaurants. There are a number of schools in the area, including Lakemba Public School, Hampden Park Public School and Holy Spirit College.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Lakemba - Wiley Park area had a population of 27,228 as of 2012. 76% of Lakemba - Wiley Park residents spoke a language other than english at home in 2011.

In 2011, labourers made up the largest proportion of wage earners in the Lakemba and Wiley Park area, accounting for 19.5% of the area's paid workers. 15.0% of the area's wage earners described themselves as professionals, and technicians and trades workers made up 12.7% of wages earners.

Wilson explains that those who cannot afford Sydney's inner western suburbs are increasingly considering properties in Canterbury, Bankstown or Croydon Park. He expects the majority of buyers in the area are and will continue to be owner occupiers, given its affordability.

After a strong 2014, Wilson predicts that in 2015, Lakemba is "still set to be a popular suburb in a moderating market".

You might also want to read: Why I wouldn't buy an old home Sydney's western suburbs.

Photo of Halden Street, Lakemba courtesy of Blu3d/CC BY-SA 3.0.