Port Stephens Property Market Update 2nd Half 2023
In Q3 2023, Port Stephens recorded a median house price of $1,050,000, and a median unit price of $645,000. This is an annual (Q3 2022 – Q3 2023) -2.6% softening for houses and growth of 7.5% for units. Sales increased between Q3 2022 – Q3 2023, by 12.9% (to 70 sales) for houses and by 50.0% for units (to 66 sales). A softer median house price downturn is evident even with more sales; thus, cash rate hikes have impacted the market. That said this is not as much as Sydney Metro, thus a resilient and stronger market. Buyers now have new opportunities, as median house prices are slightly more affordable.
Key Findings
- In Q3 2023, Port Stephens recorded a median house price of $1,050,000, and a median unit price of $645,500. This represents an annual (Q3 2022 – Q3 2023) softening of -2.6% for houses and a 7.5% growth for units. Buyers now have new opportunities, as median house prices are slightly more affordable in Port Stephens than in early-mid 2022.
- 2-bedroom houses have provided investors with +11.1% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $500 per week. House rental yields in Port Stephens were recorded at 2.9% in September 2023, slightly above Sydney Metro (2.7%).
- A total of $14.6M in project development is scheduled for the 2nd half of 2023, mainly focusing on the residential sector. Approximately 35 units and 5 dwellings are planned. With no stand-alone houses in the mix this will keep pressuring house prices to a higher sale price.
- Vacancy rates in Port Stephens were at 1.8% in September 2023. Vacancy rates in Port Stephens¥ have fluctuated over the past 12 months, spiking significantly due to investors re-entering the market. This indicates higher availability of rentals, which is good news for renters. In saying that it is still well below Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%, indicating quicker rental occupancy, thus still providing a conducive and sustainable investment condition for investors.
- Property prices in Port Stephens are higher compared to Port Stephens LGA but lower than Sydney Metro, however with comparable and/or higher rental yields and lower vacancy rates. This makes Port Stephens an ideal place for investment.
