Where new estates and developments are popping up everywhere, the changing scope of developments is what is said to be increasing the annual property housing growth.
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The Domain House Price August report showed the median house prices in Wagga’s outer suburb Springvale almost doubled the price of homes in the inner suburbs.
The median house price in June this year in Springvale was $791,500 compared to Wagga, with the median house price being $397,500.
According to Domain’s data scientist Dr Nicola Powell, land size is the predominant factor driving this price.
“You only have to drive around Springvale to really see that the area is very much dominated by large family homes and it is more on the upper-end of the market,” Dr Powell said.
In recent years estates like Estella and Brunslea Park, are driving new developments, but the annual growth increase has changed scope.
“While strong growth areas like Forest Hill last year which had a price growth of 36.5 per cent and Estella with nearly a 10 per cent increase, this is largely due to the change in the growth of stock,” she said.
“Particularly in Forest Hill, last year’s $260,000 median house price would likely reflect a two bedroom, small family home, whereas now, even if you look at the listings on Domain, it’s changed to four or five bedroom homes which are selling for up to half-a-million dollars.”
Wagga and Tamworth have been pinpointed as the two big regional growth centres in NSW, with a push to turn them into 100,000 population centres.
Dr Powell said these growth areas are just reflecting what is occurring in the city overall.
“The city is growing in terms of its population growth and there are many people who are opting for bigger family homes, wanting to select those particular fixtures and fitting; this growth is just reflecting the future for this region,” she said.
Dr Powell predicted Wagga’s short term future can expect further development and price point growth, not only due to the lower median house prices, but also job prospects and better quality of life, compared to cities.
“We’ve already seen Wagga outperform both Sydney, where housing prices are going backwards 4.5 per cent, and also regional NSW overall; so there is a strong level of growth, which creates a strong level of demand,” the data scientist said.
“We are seeing tighter lending conditions in terms of that lending environment, which certainly does impact the borrowing capacity for people and the number of buyers in the market.”