Property seekers are back in force, with buyer searches doubling in dozens of suburbs across Australia.
PropTrack data shows that search activity has jumped sharply over the past year, pointing to where home prices could rise next.
REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh (pictured) said lower interest rates had helped reignite housing demand.
“Housing demand has been rebuilding with this year’s series of interest rate cuts,” she said.
“Lower interest rates have boosted borrowing power and confidence, re-engaging would-be buyers who had stepped back when rates peaked.”
She added that population growth and tight rental markets were funnelling more households into homeownership.
Creagh noted that a rise in search activity can foreshadow stronger property price growth.
“In the demand funnel, search intensity typically leads enquiry, inspections and lastly sales,” she said.
“Where supply is slow to respond, sustained search growth often precedes shorter days on market, higher clearance rates and then price gains.”
More than 70 suburbs recorded over double the number of searches compared to a year ago.
The biggest spikes were in affordable regional hubs such as Wagga Wagga, Bendigo, Ballarat and Newcastle, where investors are chasing high rental yields and solid growth prospects.
“In regional centres, investors are attracted to university, defence, health, and agribusiness hubs with resilient rental demand and better yields than capitals,” Creagh said.
Wagga Wagga saw some of the largest increases, with searches up nearly six-fold in Glenfield Park and Mount Austin.
Professionals Wagga Wagga director Paul Irvine said investors were driving the boom.
“The investor market would be 90% of the sales in Glenfield Park in the past six months,” Irvine said. “They’re loving Glenfield Park because of the rental return, the age and the price point.”
In Bendigo, searches surged in Sailors Gully, California Gully, and Jackass Flat.
Bell Property principal Tim Noonan said interstate buyers were returning.
“Usually, the clients are from Sydney and Brisbane,” Noonan said. “They see that Victoria has lost pace, that Bendigo is affordable and they're predicting it will go up a fair bit.”
Outer-metro and regional markets are attracting both investors and first-home buyers looking for better value.
Creagh said every extra dollar of borrowing power stretched further on the city fringe.
“Each extra dollar of borrowing power stretched further on the city fringe, where homes were more affordable,” she said.
In Sydney, search activity rose most in East Kurrajong, Claymore, and Menangle Park, while Fairfield Heights and South Granville recorded the strongest growth for units.
Melbourne’s north-western suburbs – including Albanvale, Campbellfield, Coolaroo and Westmeadows – also drew more buyers amid signs of a home-price recovery.
Despite rising demand, listings remain 8% below last year’s levels, according to REA Group’s latest data.
Creagh said that limited stock would likely keep prices firm.
“With stock still constrained, and more buyers back in the market, competition is heating up and prices look set to push higher through spring,” she said.
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