Savills shines the spotlight on The Hills area

Over the past 30 years, ‘The Hills’ has transformed from a mostly rural area to a part of suburban Sydney.

The area is characterised by new residential development, access to amenities and plenty of green space.

The Government is supporting the area’s evolution.

According to Savills Spotlight Research Report – ‘Residential Property in The Hills’ the area is set to benefit from improved transport links and parts of the area overlap with priority growth area of North West Sydney, one of the locations the government have identified to provide new homes and jobs for Sydney’s growing population.

For the purpose of this report, the Hills area is defined as the following suburbs: Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Bella Vista, Castle Hill, Glenwood, Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge, Kings Langley, Parklea, Rouse Hill, Stanhope Gardens and The Ponds.

According to Sophie Chick, Head of Residential Research at Savills and author of the Spotlight report, traditionally The Hills’ residential development has been focused on large residential subdivisions and low density housing.

“Across the area, just 17 percent of the dwellings are medium or high density compared to 40 percent across Greater Sydney.

"This varies by suburb, in Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill, neighbouring the Norwest Business Park, a quarter of the residential stock is units compared to Beaumont Hills and The Ponds where there are next to none.

“However, the forecast improvement in transport infrastructure, particularly the Sydney Metro Northwest, has led to an increasing number of apartment and townhouse developments, particularly around existing and forecast railway stations.

“Across the area just 38 percent of the development approvals from the start of financial year 2015 to December 2016 were for houses while the rest are ‘other’, which are primarily apartments or semi-detached dwellings” she continued.

As well as the improving access a number of employment centres throughout Sydney, The Hills is also home to a number of growing employment hubs including the Norwest Business Park, Castle Hill Town Centre and Rouse Hill Town Centre.

Norwest Business Park has already grown to accommodate over 20,000 employees with expansion expected to increase to over 35,000 employees.

Ms Chick said house prices across The Hills have experienced strong growth over the past 10 years, increasing by 119 percent, outperforming the average growth seen across Sydney as a whole.

“More recently, the double-digit growth has continued with values rising 11 percent over the year to April 2017.

“The median value across The Hills in April 2017 was $1.21 million, slightly higher than the Sydney average of $1.15 million but offering a substantial discount when compared to central Sydney, the inner west and the north western suburbs”.

The Hills has one of the fasting growing populations of area in Sydney. From 2011 to 2016, estimates show the population across The Hills local government area has increased 12 percent.

This has significantly added to the demand for real estate in the area, equating to 3,520 new residents per year.

Ms Chick said The Hills area has already experienced higher population growth than many other areas in Sydney and this is set to continue.

“Over the next 20 years, the Hills local government area population is forecast to increase by 76 percent to 291,000 people compared to a 37 percent increase across Greater Sydney.

"This equates to an additional 6,300 people per year and is likely to contribute to the already high demand for residential property in the area.

“The population growth is being driven by a combination of residential development activity, infrastructure improvements and new employment opportunities.

"These factors are anticipated to improve the quality of life for existing residents and make the area accessible to a wider demographic of people” she said.

For more information go to Savills' home page