Laurieton Property Market Update 1st Half 2024
In Q1 2024, Laurieton recorded a median house price of $840,000, and a median unit price of $590,000. This represents annual (Q1 2023 – Q1 2024) median price growth of 3.1% for houses and 12.7% for units. During this time house sales decreased, by -1.2% (to 85 sales), but increased by 41.7% (to 17 sales) for units. This suggests an undersupplied house market and a highly demanded unit market; presenting an opportunity for owners to sell and capitalise on their investment. There is a lower paced price growth in the house market, which suggest a window of opportunity for first home buyers – now is the time to act.
Average vendor discounts patterns between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024 shows a two-speed market. It has tightened to a smaller discount of -4.6% for houses and widened to a larger discount of -4.6% for units. Both the housing and unit markets continue to favour buyers, as sellers are still willing to accept below the initial first list price. That said there is a slight shift towards sellers for houses, as Q1 2024 represent one of the lowest discounts available in the past 18 months. Now is the time for buyers to act.
House rental yields in Laurieton was 3.1% in April 2024, on par with Port-Macquarie-Hastings LGA (3.3%) and slightly higher than Sydney Metro (2.9%). This was paired with a -2.5% decrease in median house rental price in the past 12 months to Q1 2024, at $585 per week, and a -3.1% decrease in the number of houses rented (63 rentals). That said, average days on market to rent have declined, to its lowest since 2022, at 21 days. Overall, this suggests a rental market that is highly demanded, especially when rents are adjusted to match cost-of-living needs.
4+ bedroom houses have provided investors with +4.7% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $670 per week.
Laurieton recorded a vacancy rate of 1.5% in April 2024, which is slightly above Sydney Metro’s 1.1% average. Vacancy rates in Laurieton have held relatively steady over the past 12 months, with some fluctuations due to investors entering/exiting the market alongside cash rate hikes. That said, a 1.5% vacancy rate is still well below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%, which suggests rental properties in Laurieton will be rented quicker.
