Australia's most-loved suburbs revealed

PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said the property save findings were consistent with buyer popularity of south east Queensland.

“Really over the past four years the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast parts of Brisbane, even parts of northern Queensland have been really popular areas and we've seen that there's been a lot of interstate migration from Sydney and Melbourne, in particular, to south east Queensland,” he said.

“And that's coupled with a limited supply of properties at the moment in Queensland and so that's making it pretty competitive for those properties.”

The pandemic-driven trend for a sea-change lifestyle is still contributing to demand for Queensland property, he said.

“Maybe that’s less true for places like Palm Beach, which are quite expensive, but some of south east Queensland is a bit more affordable than Sydney or Melbourne,” Mr Moore said.

“Maybe not as much as it once was given the increase in prices it has seen, but it does remain a little bit more affordable, which is going to be attractive for some buyers in that environment in which affordability is at its worst level in at least three decades, as interest rates have risen.”

Buyers are still seeking lifestyle and space in a post-Covid world, like this dreamy property in Brisbane's Gumdale. Picture: realestate.com.au

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Andy Hogarth, McGrath Estate Agents Palm Beach sales manager, described Palm Beach as a changing suburb that has emerged with a new identity, thanks to new cafes and restaurants in the southern end, in addition to the locale’s creeks, estuaries and beautiful beaches, and easy access to the airport.

“So position-wise and its facilities, it is what is attracting people to the area, but all the other bits and pieces that go with it – you’ve got something for everyone.

“It's got really good schools, the Palm Beach High School is a big drawcard for people. It's family orientated, which I think is a big thing – there are a lot of families moving into the area.”

Homes were tightly held, Mr Hogarth said, with days on market for his listings 'fast moving' and averaging around 24 days.

Fellow Gold Coast suburb, Currumbin - where people hit ‘save’ on property listings 3.4 times more than the national average – saw just three to six homes sell every three months, according to Dion Zorko, property sales Consultant at Ray White Tugun.

“It's a very niche suburb in terms of what's there, it's very small and the turnover is very low as well,” he said.

“For that reason, that's why we see so many people (hit) ‘save’ on that suburb. It's also wider, as well in comparison to areas like Palm Beach and Burleigh.”

The demographic of people living in the area were typically older, who had been there for an extended period of time, he said.

“I think a lot more buyers are aware of the area now too,” he said.

“I think generally, our biggest demographic of buyers as of right now really are families and it's for a number of reasons, it's for schools to get into the school catchments for Currumbin Primary School or the Palm Beach Currumbin High School.

“It’s what the area has to offer – you’ve got the Currumbin Estuary, which is beautiful, the Currumbin beach and it's quite a leafy area, with a lot of trees there so it doesn't feel as built up, or busy as areas like Palm Beach or like Burleigh in comparison just being so close.”

Victoria dominates unit for sale search ‘saves’

The most saved Australian suburbs for units was ruled by Victorian suburbs, with Brighton East listings leading the charge with 3.3 times more saves relative to the national average.

Suburbs Australians are loving - Units

The top five was rounded out by inner south Melbourne suburb, Bentleigh East (2.9 times more saves), and south east Melbourne locales, Keysborough, (2.8 times more saves) and Mulgrave (2.7 times more saves).

Buyers are loving homes in Brighton East, with units receiving more saves than anywhere else. Picture: Getty

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Mr Moore said the most loved unit suburbs were all popular areas, some with large unit markets, with a high number of buyers and sellers.

"So, you're just seeing a lot of people looking at properties in these areas,” he said.

Originally published at: https://www.realestate.com.au/news/australias-most-loved-suburbs-revealed/