Darlinghurst tops the 25 best performing Sydney suburbs in 2012: REINSW
The trendy, cosmopolitan inner Sydney enclave of Darlinghurst was the best performing Sydney suburb over 2012, according to latest quarterly report from the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW).
Located just 3.2km from the CBD with its main thoroughfare being Oxford Street, house prices in Darlinghurst increased 21.2% over 2012 to a median of $1.057 million.
This was from a relatively small number of sales – 53 for the year.
Averaging just over one sale a week, it performed substantially better than the inner city Sydney market as a whole which managed no price growth over 2012.
Bresic Whitney Darlinghurst agent Darren Pearce says the recent addition of the Hyde Park Plaza high-end apartments on College Street have added considerable real estate value to the Darlinghurst area.
Pearce said the Darlinghurst market is evenly split between owner occupiers and investors.
He adds that the suburb is still experiencing a growth spurt with the prestige, historic terrace house market currently fetching up to $1.3 million a property and beyond.
Last week Pearce sold this five-bedroom Darlinghurst terrace on Liverpool Street, for $2.275 million. It last sold for $2.1 million in 2009 and for $350,000 in 1993, according to RP Data records.
In December last year, this four-bedroom terrace on Surrey Street (pictured below) sold for $1.59 million through Gary Sands of Di Jones Real Estate – Woollahra.
It last sold for $1.02 million in 2002, according to RP Data records.{yoogallery src=[images/stories/2013/03/march14darlinghurst]}
Another recent terrace sale was a four-bedroom house on Palmer Street which sold for $1.275 million through Dominic Kuneman and Brigitte Blackman of Bresic Whitney. It last sold for $680,000 in 1999.
Pearce expects the locality and culture of Darlinghurst to continue to drive strong interest in the area,
“The proximity to the CBD is certainly a major drawing point as well as the opportunity for people to indulge in the cafe lifestyle offered by the numerous social hubs in and around the area,” he says.
The north western suburb of Woodcroft experienced the second highest annual growth in house prices with a rise 15.5% to $485,000. followed by West Pennant Hills with a 15.4% increase in its median house price to $907,500.
The Top 25 performing Sydney suburbs over 2012 were*:
| No. | Suburb | % increase | No. of sales | Median Price |
| 1 | Darlinghurst | 21.2 | 53 | $1,057,500 |
| 2 | Woodcroft | 15.5 | 61 | $485,000 |
| 3 | West Pennant Hills | 15.4 | 181 | $907,500 |
| 4 | Summerland Point | 15 | 60 | $325,000 |
| 5 | Spring Farm | 13.1 | 55 | $441,000 |
| 6 | Thirlmere | 12.8 | 52 | $437,500 |
| 7 | North Curl Curl | 12.1 | 70 | $1,250,000 |
| 8 | Berowra Heights | 10.6 | 56 | $648,000 |
| 9 | Campsie | 10.4 | 71 | $740,000 |
| 10 | Buff Point | 10.3 | 56 | $310,000 |
| 11 | Oatlands | 10.2 | 58 | $807,500 |
| 12 | St Ives Chase | 9.8 | 50 | $990,000 |
| 13 | Seaforth | 9.6 | 115 | $1,425,000 |
| 14 | Lisarow | 9.6 | 71 | $455,000 |
| 15 | Bargo | 9.4 | 74 | $419,000 |
| 16 | Kenthurst | 9.2 | 51 | $1,272,000 |
| 17 | Wyong | 9.1 | 71 | $330,000 |
| 18 | Guildford | 8.8 | 206 | $468,000 |
| 19 | Bella Vista | 8.6 | 97 | $890,750 |
| 20 | Botany | 8.4 | 55 | $835,000 |
| 21 | Campbelltown | 8.3 | 112 | $325,000 |
| 22 | Tumbi Umbi | 8.3 | 89 | $396,000 |
| 23 | Canley Heights | 8.1 | 119 | $465,000 |
| 24 | Ruse | 8 | 72 | $356,250 |
| 25 | Greenacre | 7.7 | 202 | $560,000 |
Source: REINSW
*Suburbs which recorded less than 50 sales for the year were not included.
