This burb’s booming

A LAUNCESTON suburb is tipped to enjoy the highest median housing price growth in Australia this year.

St Leonards beat Sydney suburb Bangor as being the neighbourhood most likely to see house prices rise, with predicted growth of 7.5 per cent. The research was completed by the Select Residential Property Research Group.

THE Launceston suburb of St Leonards has been predicted to experience the highest median housing price growth in the nation for 2020, beating Sydney suburb Bangor for top spot.

Research completed by the Select Residential Property Research Group identified the locations where median house prices are tipped to increase by up to 7.5 per cent this year.

St Leonards, east of the Launceston CBD, came in at No.1 with a forecast median price growth of 7.5 per cent, or

TIM MARTAIN

$20,000 on the current median price of $269,000.

Sydney’s Bangor had a much higher median housing price of $1,015,000, and also has a predicted 7.5 per cent increase for 2020, equalling a rise of $76,000, but the marginally lower demand on housing in that suburb saw it relegated to second place.

“While it’s only located about 10 minutes from the centre of Launceston, St Leonards offers a mix of residential and semirural homes, with an affordable price tag to boot,” SRP Director of Research Jeremy Sheppard said.

The research found that 12 of the 20 top areas for forecast price growth were located in Sydney, with Adelaide and Melbourne also featuring twice on the list.

While it is quite an achievement for a Launceston suburb to be at the top of this list of major capital city locales, Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Mandy Welling said she was not surprised by the market strength and growing demand for St Leonards.

“It’s close to Launceston, with a median sale price of only $269,000 currently, whereas in central Launceston the median price would be about $100,000 more,” she said.

“So it’s close enough to the city to have good services, easily accessible, and with more bang for your buck.

“Buyer demand is high in St Leonards for a lot of reasons.”

Escalating property prices are not always good news for everyone, but Ms Welling said is was difficult to predict whether increased prices at St Leonards would lead to more strain on renters and firsthome buyers.

“It all depends on who buys those properties, whether they are investors or owner-occupier,” she said.

“With first homebuyer incentives in place, it would definitely be appealing for someone trying to buy their first home.

“But at that price a home would also be a good return for an investor looking to rent out.”