By Freddy Pawle For Daily Mail Australia
07:52 18 Jan 2024, updated 08:56 18 Jan 2024
A real estate expert has tipped the property market to surge this year and revealed the ten best suburbs for investors across Australia – but there’s no good news for renters.
James Kirkland has predicted 2024 will be a year of increased home and rental prices, leading to an attractive growth market for savvy buyers but more pain for tenants.
The property analyst said buyers should not just be looking for suburbs with high rental yield but also value growth to protect themselves from rising interest rates.
He said suburbs such as Kensington, in Sydney‘s East, inner-city Melbourne‘s Carlton and Bulimba, in Brisbane‘s CBD, meet that criteria and are among his ten ‘suburbs to watch’ the year.
‘In 2024, we anticipate a surge in property prices fuelled by the relentless demand for housing outpacing the available supply,’ the executive general manager of sales at Little Real Estate said.
While the potential for growth will be attractive to many Aussies, Mr Kirkland said the same market influences are likely to negatively affect renters.
‘I think the rental crisis is showing no signs of slowing down,’ he said.
‘For the investor who’s had to pay a lot more, if they’ve got a mortgage on their property, they have the opportunity to increase rents depending on what state they’re in.
‘And increasing rents is likely to occur.’
Mr Kirkland said his agency’s Top 10 list considered several factors including access to infrastructure such schools, shops and transport.
Homes in these suburbs will generate a higher rental yield, but also come at a higher price.
The real estate analyst said homebuyers should also be looking at suburbs that have just received infrastructure improvements of have them on the horizon.
He said suburbs around Liverpool, in Sydney’s West, have nearly doubled in price in the past decade as the city’s new airport closes in on completion.
Mr Kirkland’s prediction of further increasing property prices is also factored in population growth due to surging migration and the housing shortage, which was ‘putting a lot of pressure on prices, which is likely to continue’.
‘I don’t think that’s going to slide out anytime soon,’ Mr Kirkland said.
He said those looking to buy should decide what type of investment property they want to purchase and get their finances together before making an offer.
‘You need to know what you’re aiming to do, and like every property investment, it should be a long term approach and strategy,’ Mr Kirkland said.
‘It’s all about getting your ducks in a row and understanding what you can borrow and what’s the investment strategy, Is it a high yield strategy, or is it a capital growth strategy?’
First homebuyers looking to invest in the market without a large amount of capital should be taking extra care in protecting themselves from fluctuating interest rates.
According to Mr Kirkland, this means looking to buy a property with a combination of a ‘strong yield and good capital growth’.
While the RBA held interest rates at 4.35 per cent in December, a 12-year-high reached in November, economists have tipped it to start to decrease throughout the year.
