The suburb of Cook, which is home to a popular local shops including cafe Little Oink, is the fast-selling suburb for townhouses and units. Photo: Facebook Over the 10 months until October 2016, the typical Canberra and Greater Queanbeyan house has taken 62 days to sell. During the same period a typical unit (this includes townhouses and apartments) spent 106 days on the market, just over six weeks longer compared to a house in the region.
The solid supply of units may have attributed to the much longer time to sell than a detached house. The pool of available unit stock and the annual increase in supply pipeline has resulted in some units lingering on the market much longer than others. The rapid rate to sell of a house highlights the strength in demand.
Certain suburbs have a rate to sale that falls significantly below the average for the region. The 10 fastest selling suburbs have been compiled from transactions over the first 10 months of the year. Cook had the fastest rate to sale with units spending on average 36 days on the market, almost three times less than the regional average. Forde was the second fastest selling suburb, with an average rate to sell of 42 days. In joint third place, with a rate to sale of 59 days were Deakin and Hawker, closely followed by Nicholls at 60 days.
In sixth place was Isabella Plains with a rate to sale of 62 days, followed by Holder at 63 days and Holt at 70 days. Yarralumla and Macgregor completed the 10 fastest selling unit markets, with a rate to sale of 71 days and 74 days respectively.
The suburbs to make the cut into the top 10 fastest selling areas had markets comprised predominantly of townhouse transactions. Cook, the fastest selling suburb in the region, and Nicholls both had markets made up entirely of townhouse transactions. All of the top 10, excluding Deakin, had selling markets primarily of townhouses.
As house prices forge ahead, certain townhouse developments offer buyers a lower price point entry and retain many of the characteristics a detached home offers. The fact townhouses appear to be the driving force behind the fastest unit sale markets highlights the popularity, particularly in certain regions.
Nicola Powell is a property expert for Allhomes. Twitter: @DocNicolaPowell. The MIX106.3 Real Estate Show, Saturdays, 9-10am.