Yarralumla home to year's top sale

Yarralumla is home to some of the most expensive real estate in Canberra.

The priciest sale of the year-to-date was located in the sought after suburb, coming in at an enormous $3.95 million.

This sale was not only the largest dollar value for a family home across the region, it also smashed the previous Yarralumla record set last year by $750,000.

The difference in price flies well above the current median house price of $609,000 for the Canberra and Greater Queanbeyan region. Even the smallest cottage is out of the average price bracket for Canberra.

The suburb was once dotted with weatherboard homes but opportunists have taken advantage of the lack of heritage restrictions and the sizeable blocks on offer, particularly when compared to the newer districts in Canberra.

The average block size of homes sold in Yarralumla over the year-to-date was 916m2. It is this almost quarter acre block size that comes with a hefty unimproved value helping to push many sales over the million dollar mark.

The suburb landscape has changed, with many of the weatherboard homes demolished and replaced by mini mansions.

These sizeable homes come with a hefty price tag. The median price of a detached house over the first nine months of the year hit a staggering $1,437,500 and a townhouse cost just over $1 million. Seven out of ten sales in Yarralumla broke $1 million during 2016.

Supply and demand has boomed. Over the first nine months of the year 40 properties were sold, an increase of 17.6 per cent compared to the same period last year. Vendor activity also soared by 45.2 per cent to 45 properties listed for sale on allhomes.com.au during the first nine months of the year.

It is the demand for property that has shaved a staggering 47 days off the time taken to sell. Over the year-to-date vendors found that property sold in just over 8 weeks on average.

Competition for sought-after homes within the area have driven up the number of properties sold under the hammer. Over the year almost half were sold under the hammer compared to only 35 per cent last year.

There is an element of buzz surrounding the property market in Yarralumla, as many of the knockdown rebuilds hit the market. This is likely to ignite further as the spring selling frenzy gets into full swing.

Nicola Powell is a property expert for Allhomes. Twitter: @DocNicolaPowell. The MIX106.3 Real Estate Show, Saturdays, 9-10am.