Wagga has been declared an "economic powerhouse" and the perfect location for all types of investors by industry experts.
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Property researchers and buyers agents InvestorKit rate Wagga, with its low unemployment and strong recovery post-COVID, as one of the top ten cities to invest in nationwide.
Professionals Wagga director Paul Irvine is seeing that reflected day-to-day and this Wagga real estate market is the most robust he's seen in his 30 year career.
"Wagga at the moment, the word inundated is a good word for investors, particularly from the Sydney areas," he said.
"80 per cent of my investor inquiries come from Sydney and surrounds ... I've never seen as many buyers agents in the last 90 days in Wagga than I have in the previous 30 years."
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Mr Irvine said such is the appetite for Wagga properties that buyers are purchasing properties over facetime within days of listings going live.
InvestorKit looked at over 500 LGAs nationwide for key economic indicators.
Gross Regional Product, industry diversity, residential population, passenger movements, job advertisements, unemployment rate and construction projects either underway or forthcoming, were all taken into account.
InvestorKit founder and Head of Research Arjun Paliwal said that Wagga scored highly in all of these areas and with consistent 4-5 per cent growth and yields each year, the city is ideal for residential property investors.
"We're seeing one of the strongest unemployment rates in the country, an affordable market. It hasn't had a huge amount of growth in the last ten yeas, but it has in the last one. So, it's clear that something is happening," he said.
Mr Paliwal sees further growth potential for the city as investment cocerns in other markets, like interest rate rises or political changes, will not have as much weighting on Wagga real estate because of its "tight" job market and strong housing demand.
"You combine that with the last year in Wagga and how the house prices have moved up double digits and the infrastructure that's happening too, my suggestion is from an investment perspective Wagga will outperform its previous years over the years ahead."
A recent report by PRD real estate found that in the Wagga LGA 2021 was the strongest year for house sales in the past decade, with 1674 transactions occurring.
"It's a safe return," said Mr Irvine. "The medium house price would be between $400,000 and $500,000 in Wagga and that's where investors shop that 300 to 500 pocket predominantly. "
"They're then getting rent at $350 to $500 a week. You cannot possibly get that return in Sydney.
"You roll in agriculture, uni, army, RAAF and medical. Those five key points are why Wagga has potential growth."
But what does that mean for locals? Despite this demand, Wagga is still a good place for locals to get onto the property ladder, Mr Irvine said.
"The first home buyer has the advantage of negotiating without stamp duty on top. So, that puts them in front of the investor ... it's actually quite a healthy balance. My last ten sales under $500,000 were 70 per cent first home buyers, 30 per cent investor."
Wagga has experienced near 30 per cent growth in price in the last 12 months, Mr Price said, and although that growth may taper, the market will remain strong.
"I can just see Wagga continuing with what we've seen over the last two years ... we're not fluctuating like those Sydney markets ... that's why Wagga has always been strong, it's honest and steady."
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