For those wanting to move into a new neighbourhood, finding a suburb that suits certain needs and lifestyles, as well as fitting in with their budget, will often dictate where a person lives. 

Fitzpatricks Real Estate director Helen Woodhouse said Wagga has seen a distinct change in buyer preferences over the past five years.

“Five years ago people would come to us and say they just wanted to live in Tatton or the Bourkelands, but now people are willing to have a look around and find a suburb that will suit their needs,” she said. 

“People often want to be within a five-minute drive to the CBD, but many people are now wanting to research and look around and are open to other suburbs to get the right house and suburb.

“Wagga does not attract certain demographics that major cities do, but we are seeing some buying trends.” 

According to the 2016 census, parents and home builders comprise 18.2 per cent of Wagga’s population. 

The young workforce followed at 13.8 per cent and empty-nesters made 10.2 per cent of the population. 

Independent property valuer Chris Egan said “we don’t really see that big congregation of racial groups” in Wagga. 

Independent youths are classified as predominantly renters or house sharers, either couples or singles and under 35. 

Charles Sturt University in the northern suburbs of Wagga has attracted students and trade workers, according to Wagga’s independent property valuer Chris Egan.

“Estella, Gobbagombalin, Boorooma and North Wagga stand out to students because of the close proximity to the university, but also just over the bridge which gives quick access to the Wagga CBD,” he said. 

“Blue collar workers and students have identified these suburbs as also having positive vibes.” 

CSU student Ruby Costello, 20, recently moved into a share house in Estella because of its close proximity to university, work and friends. 

“I have lots of friends who live there and it’s so close to the university, which is where I work too, so it’s easy for me to get everywhere,” she said. 

“I didn’t really look at other areas because a couple of my friends already lived there and I jumped on the opportunity when they had a spare room.” 

Similarly, Hayley Kotzur, 22, is also studying at CSU and lives just a short walk away in her parent’s investment property in Boorooma. 

“I moved here from Albury and my parents chose to buy an investment property here because of how close it is to the university,” she said. 

“I’m currently living by myself at the moment as my sister just finished her degree, but I have two roommates moving in soon.” 

Young families also include single parents under 35. 

Both experts agreed that the younger professional market often is located in Central or Turvey Park. 

“First-home buyers tend to go for old style architecture in Turvey Park in a price bracket that is cheaper than Central,” Mr Egan said. 

“We find that once they’ve grown out of the house or have had kids, they move to rural and residential properties or to central larger homes if their income enables that.” 

While Ms Woodhouse said Central and Turvey Park are areas which often see “young, motivated professionals”, the first-home buyers stamp duty waiver to existing homes has seen people buy in Kooringal and Lake Albert. 

“More are looking towards Kooringal and Lake Albert for homes to renovate, rather than buying brand new,” she said. 

“I’ve seen a lot of young people buying as young as 19 to get into the market, in areas like Mount Austin to get their foot in the market so they can get equity to buy up.

“We’ve also seen young families in Lake Albert and Kooringal for the schooling options.” 

Trail Street Coffee Shop’s manager Lachie Robinson, 25, and dental assistant Abigail Busch, 22, bought their first home in Turvey Park. 

“Originally we did want to buy in Central and we were looking for ages and we weren’t that interested in buying in Turvey, but then we spoke to a few people who lived in this area and we were told nothing but good things,” Mr Robinson said. 

“So that sort of expanded our buying areas.” 

Ms Busch said the beauty of living in Turvey Park is that the home is “close to Central, but not in Central”.

This demographic is also classified by extended families and single parents aged 45-54. 

The suburbs of choice are not as defined for an established couple or family in Wagga. 

Mr Egan said there is often two trains of thought when it comes to this demographic.

“Some families live in the same suburbs for many generations, including areas like Ashmont, Mount Austin and Kooringal,” he said. 

“We see children who buy houses in those areas, but at the same time they can move to Central Wagga and downsize to smaller houses that don’t have the maintenance.” 

In other cases, Mr Egan said those who have purchased in Turvey Park or renovated in other suburbs and want to upsize, move out of town to “capatalise on that rural lifestyle”. 

“It ultimately goes down to what people want, whether they want the privacy and big gardens or closer to the services of the town.” 

He said that Wagga is “interesting” in that suburbs like Mount Austin, Ashmont and Kooringal have a huge price bracket range and can suit a range of different budgets. 

Ms Woodhouse said many people are still “searching for acreage properties”, which are becoming less available. 

Couples aged 65 and over belong to this group. 

Ms Woodhouse said you can find ‘empty-nesters’ congregating in the “older areas” of Kooringal, Lake Albert and Central that offer places within walking distance, quieter streets and the lake. 

Ms Woodhouse and independent property valuer Chris Egan said the Wagga trends don’t always show that as demographics become older and reach maturing life stages, the suburbs they are settling into are further away from the CBD. 

According to the 2016 census, empty-nesters and retirees represented 10.2 per cent of the overall population, equating to 6338 people. 

Mr Egan said the general trend in Wagga for investors is the close proximity to transport, low maintenance and easy to lease properties. 

While Ms Woodhouse said investors seem to be “looking anywhere” in Wagga. 

“Anywhere in Wagga shows a great return, a four-bedroom home in Estella Rise and Boorooma can expect up to $490 per week in rent and this is driven by young families and the university out that way,” she said.