Families planning to buy property in Wagga are increasingly looking at which school district their children will be zoned to when making their choice.
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PRD Wagga's Ryan Smith said in the past couple of years, suburbs zoned to sought-after schools had begun to attract more interest from families looking to buy.
"We've probably seen it really come into fashion the last couple of years ... that's probably due to our population growth and our sprawl," he said.
Mr Smith said outside the more expensive central Wagga area, suburbs in high demand from families included South Wagga and Lake Albert.
He said with the recent opening of the brand new Estella Public School, he was expecting more families to begin looking north as well.
Mr Smith said many families in Wagga were "looking to step up again on the ladder" at the moment, with fewer family holidays and low interest rates putting many in a better position to buy than they were before the pandemic.
This, coupled with the desire to have a spacious, well equipped space to stay in the event of another lockdown, he said was inspiring people to take the plunge.
"Families are really out in force," he said.
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Remax's Jenna Pollard also said school zones were a strong guide at the moment to find the suburbs in the most demand, with Lake Albert, Kooringal, Tatton and Bourkelands all attracting significant interest from families.
She said families were looking in a crowded market, with the lowest amount of property available that she had seen in about eight years.
"There's high buyer demand and not a lot options to choose from," she said.
She said investors buying into Wagga's "steady economy" and those moving from capital cities were contributing to the squeeze, which was leading to a slow and steady rise in prices.
The median house price in Wagga tipped over the $400,000 mark by the end of 2020, sitting at $405,000 according to a Domain quarterly house price report.
With multiple offers often placed on each property, Mr Smith said prospective buyers were willing to have a "fair crack" at outbidding their competitors, with quality homes likely to be sold over asking price.
