For that budget,buyers could find a home closer to the city centre,but they opt to live in these sought-after suburbs further out due to the large blocks of land,amenities ranging from beaches to private schools and good connectivity to the CBD.
Beachside Manly tops the list with a median house price of $4.2 million and sits a fraction over 10 kilometres from the CBD,while nearby Fairlight ($3,605,000) and Freshwater ($3.5 million) also rank in the top 10.
On the upper north shore,a train journey of suburbs makes the list,from Lindfield ($3.79 million) to Killara ($3,525,000),Gordon ($3 million),Pymble ($3.5 million) and Turramurra ($3.01 million).
But among these,Strathfield stands out as one without the lifestyle location yet a median house price of $3.59 million.
Selling agent Tarun Sethi of McGrath Strathfield said the typical buyer in the multiculturally diverse suburb is usually already a local.
“It’s the one suburb in the entire inner west that you can find such a large land holding,” he said.
“The public transportation is very good. It connects north,south,east,west to Sydney really well,it is very central and[there is] the highly elite private schooling in Strathfield as well.”
Vishal Gupta,46,has a property portfolio of several homes in Strathfield. He mentions the tree-lined streets,a grand and graceful mix of historical and modern homes and the golf course as highlights.
Gupta’s parents have lived in Strathfield since the 1980s and have often said that Strathfield is the heart of Sydney.
Vishal Gupta has a portfolio of several homes in Strathfield.Dean Sewell
“My parents … say if you take a compass,Strathfield is basically,you can call it a central point of Sydney. No matter where you want to go,you can be anywhere between 20 and 25 minutes,” the mortgage broker from Unique Finance Services said.
Gupta feels his money is secure in the suburb. A recent sale of one of his properties fetched $600,000 above its reserve. And a recent valuation of a home he bought for $5.5 million and did some work on three years ago revealed it could fetch $7 million to $7.8 million today.
Gupta continues to buy and sell within Strathfield and hopes this time to acquire within the coveted Golden Triangle.
“This would be the perfect time to use that opportunity to buy a bigger block and build something which will be the home forever,” he said.
Demographer Simon Kuestenmacher said the expensive middle-ring prices come down to a within a commutable distance of the CBD.
“In Sydney,[there’s] a crazy shortage of family-sized housing,” he said.
“For the Millennial generation,[they’re] making babies,[which] further drives up the demand for family-sized homes,and there[are] precious few of those homes in the inner and middle suburbs.”
A co-founder and director of The Demographics Group,Kuestenmacher said middle suburbs have blocked densification where they could,so land value is more expensive.
Vishal Gupta hopes to buy again in Strathfield.Dean Sewell
He said that,pre-pandemic,people were paying a premium to live close to the office,but now people were willing to commute longer if it was less frequent.
Manly can be a near 40-minute drive to the city or as little as 15 minutes via ferry.
Selling agent Michael Clarke of Clarke&Humel said COVID-19 has led people to re-evaluate their priorities and seek a holiday lifestyle on their doorstep.
“When you get here,it’s genuinely like being somewhere between the best of the Australian beaches and the Mediterranean,” he said.
Clarke said the high median house price in Manly was due to limited stock,as more apartments were available and when a house was sold it was often a semi.
“Semis are extremely well sought after,but the freestanding homes are in even shorter supply,” he said,“and thus attract even stronger interest.”
On the upper north shore,selling agent Jessica Cao of Ray White Upper North Shore said Lindfield is a leafy suburb with comfortable blocks and good transport.
“In Lindfield,the typical properties would be four- to five-bedroom houses with a backyard and a swimming pool on a block about 1000 square metres,” she said.
“You get your space,privacy and you get a big house[that] you want very close to the city.
“The north shore line takes parents to the city to go to work and also takes kids to all the private schools along the north shore.
“It’s very desirable.”
Cao said typical buyers were families with children in primary school moving into the area due to its proximity to private schools.
“Typically families here would stay 15 to 20 years before they think of downsizing for a sea change or tree change.”
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