12 Hunter Street in Yarralumla sold for $5,475,000 in November. Photo: Supplied More than one-third of Canberra’s suburbs had their highest ever residential sale in 2016, with records falling across all of the city’s districts.
Records were smashed in 36 suburbs – an indicator of the fiercely competitive market’s shortage of stock, according to Allhomes data scientist Nicola Powell.
“In a market where you have rising prices you expect to see records being broken, but this is above what we’d anticipate,” Dr Powell said.
Historically low interest rates may have been a contributor to the strong sales, Dr Powell said, as buyers chose to upsize while borrowing money was more affordable.
Dr Powell said records set across each of Canberra’s districts indicated that all levels of the market experienced growth.
Belconnen was the year’s high achiever with almost half of its suburbs achieving a record price. The district’s 11 suburb records demonstrated growth across all price points.
Evatt, Kaleen and Lawson cracked the million-dollar mark for the first time, while sales in Weetangera and Hawker topped $1.5 million.
Holt, Scullin and Florey achieved new suburb records of $742,000, $790,000 and $815,000, respectively, which were closer to the ACT-wide median house price of $661,912.
Luton Properties Belconnen agent Tim McInnes sold record-breaking properties in Evatt, Weetangera and Scullin and said demand was outstripping supply in Belconnen.
“People are seeing the value that’s on offer in Belconnen and that demand has been positive for sellers,” Mr McInnes said.
“As Canberra continues to grow outwards the Belconnen region has become much more central.”
The inner south’s Yarralumla was the standout suburb of 2016. A palatial house at 16 Brown Street smashed the suburb record by $750,000 when it sold for $3.95 million in June. The sale also marked the highest auction result on record for the ACT.
However, both of these records were broken again when 12 Hunter Street sold for a whopping $5,475,000 at an auction in November.
Peter Blackshaw Manuka agent Mario Sanfrancesco sold the record-breaking Yarralumla property and also achieved record sales in Chifley, Lyons and Narrabundah.
He believed the spate of suburb records was driven by “an overall active market and a shortage of good properties”.
In addition to the record sales, Mr Sanfrancesco said there were a number of strong results throughout the year that weren’t necessarily record breakers.
“There were a number of instances where properties sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars above expectations, which in some suburbs can be a life-changing result,” Mr Sanfrancesco said.
Dr Powell said she expected that interest rates would start to rise again in 2017, however demand would still drive price growth across all regions of the capital.
Suburb records broken in 2016
GUNGAHLIN
BONNER – 31 Ben Blakely Street, $955,000
FORDE – 10 Eric Wright Street, $1,270,000
GUNGAHLIN – 21 Kettle Street, $1,255,000
JACKA – 11 Bittermann Street, $749,000
MONCRIEFF – 110 Slim Dusty Circuit, $869,000
NGUNNAWAL – 5 Gangele Street, $1,180,000
BELCONNEN
ARANDA – 38 Mirning Crescent, $1,400,000
COOK – 33 Cambridge Street, $1,365,000
EVATT – 11 Ashkanasy Crescent, $1,120,000
FLOREY – 11 Priestley Place, $815,000
HAWKER – 16 Elsey Street, $1,525,000*
HOLT – 1 Moyes Crescent, $742,000
KALEEN – 45 Onkaparinga Crescent, $1,045,000
LAWSON – 10 Concertina Street, $1,255,000
SCULLIN – 18 Ross Smith Crescent, $790,000
SPENCE – 54 Macgrath Crescent, $790,000
WEETANGERA – 19 Maclachlan Crescent, $1,510,000
NORTH CANBERRA
DOWNER – 28 Berry Street $996,000
LYNEHAM – 7 Fernyhough Crescent $1,340,000
REID – 3 Geerilong Gardens $2,300,000
WATSON – 9 Roma Mitchell Crescent $1,140,000
SOUTH CANBERRA
GRIFFITH – 1 Wells Gardens $2,800,000
NARRABUNDAH – 9 Finniss Street $1,800,000
OAKS ESTATE – 13 Williams Street $902,000
YARRALUMLA – 12 Hunter Street $5,475,000
WODEN VALLEY
CHIFLEY – 14 Warren Place $1,495,000
LYONS – 40 Derwent Street $1,370,000
WESTON CREEK
CHAPMAN – 28 Chauvel Circle, $2,600,000
WARAMANGA – 2 Adinda Street, $901,000
WESTON – 14 Rubbo Crescent $1,175,000
MOLONGLO VALLEY
COOMBS – 22 Laffan Street, $1,610,000
WRIGHT – 73 Ulysses Circuit, $1,110,000
TUGGERANONG
CALWELL – 12 Mountain Drive, $1,120,000
GORDON – 33 Clem Hill Street, $1,085,000
MACARTHUR – 163 Jackie Howe Crescent, $850,000
OXLEY – 16 Collocott Crescent, $956,000
THEODORE – 62 Louis Loder Street, $810,000
*Equal with 16 Marrakai Street, set in 2013