by Rels 
Growth in the waterfront city’s market has continued to surge post-pandemic with a steady stream of new arrivals and robust price growth on the horizon. The city’s median price of $1.17 million has registered as the second most expensive in the country, with the city’s growth on track to equal the current $1.7 million median of another major city by 2027, as pointed out in a recent market report.
Over the last 12 months, house prices in the city were observed to have grown 9% compared to the national average of 8.5% – described as a “better capital return on investment than even” one of the top cities in the world.
The conditions behind this meteoric growth include that “luxury continues to be the top performer, with the luxury housing market significantly outperforming the market as a whole”. A recent report highlighted that there have been a substantial number of property sales over $5 million in the past year, indicating “there is substantially more money at the high end of the market”.
The city has become increasingly appealing as a luxury destination, with the region’s enhanced dining and lifestyle options drawing comparisons to a famous coastal city. Key to this growth has been interstate migration, as well as an increase in renovation and investment activity leading to a “lift in the quality of housing available”.
There is a lot more investment in housing from people coming from other major cities, either downsizing or keeping a city apartment and buying a larger home. The city’s surge in population growth has been influenced by people’s desire to “escape” the pandemic and “get into a place where they felt they could enjoy that period of time better”.
Interest in the city’s market has resulted in “continuous momentum”, wherein new residents’ family and friends also decide to buy into the market and attract their own new arrivals. The latest data recorded nearly 20,000 new arrivals in the past year, and the city is on track to “hit the million population bracket” by 2037.
Experts describe the post-pandemic city market as having “fully recovered and continues to experience strong price growth”, with the city now seen as a “world-class” location that is “fully mature in terms of shopping, schools and employment” – no longer just a place for holiday homes.
