Darwin: 'The most attractive place in Australia' to invest in property

Darwin used to be the only city in Australia where people preferred to talk about fishing, the footy, the weather, the latest croc story … anything other than property.

But no more.

Now, at every dinner party, every bar, and every coffee shop, the stunning rise in prices in Darwin’s housing market is the subject on everyone’s lips.

“Well, it is pretty incredible,” says Chris Clarke of Real Estate Central NT.

“And now Darwin seems to have become the most attractive place in Australia.”

He has a point.

The city has seen a flood of people from Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Adelaide coming to settle in a territory capital that’s been virtually untouched by COVID-19.

With a balmy climate, a famously relaxed lifestyle and, as Australia’s least populated capital – just 148,564 residents and a density of 703 people per square kilometre – it has even more post-pandemic charm.

“Darwin is an amazing place to be,” says one of the latest arrivals, radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist Dr John Eng, who’s just moved from Victoria with his family, and commutes back every three weeks for work.

“There’s no COVID, it’s tropical, and it’s great for kids. There’s also much more space, and housing prices are a lot more affordable than in Melbourne. And it’s only a four-hour flight, and you could easily spend four hours in a car to go somewhere, so this is the best of both worlds.”

With demand for property surging, investors are now seeing good growth, excellent returns and minuscule vacancy rates.

Over the quarter to the end of March 2021, on Domain Group figures, house prices in Darwin rose by 9.1 per cent, second nationally only to Canberra’s 9.7 per cent.

Over the last year, apartment prices rose 20.2 per cent.

Rents are strong too, with the median weekly rent for a three-bedroom house at $505, up 19.5 per cent over the past year, and a two-bedroom unit at $400, up 14.3 per cent on 2020.

And, of perhaps even more interest to investors, vacancy rates are now the lowest – bar Hobart – of the capital cities at 0.5 per cent, down a massive 80.9 per cent over the year.

Real Estate Institute of Northern Territory president Quentin Kilian is enthusiastic.

“Everyone should be buying here, particularly investors,” he says.

“We consistently have rental yields over 5 per cent, the highest in Australia. We were the first to open our borders, and the migration north started in June last year.

“We’re seeing so many Victorians, in particular, relocating up here, and why wouldn’t they? It’s 32 degrees outside today. Property here is so much more affordable than any other capital city in Australia too. You’re getting much more for your money.”

Indeed, the median house price in Darwin is now $554,295, and units $293,731 – both the lowest of all capital cities.

“We’ve had a lot of interstate buyers looking to get away from COVID and wanting a nice climate and a good lifestyle,” says Kerri-Ann Laurence of North Property NT.

“I sold a beautiful house the other day for $1.37 million in a good suburb that would cost $6 to $8 million elsewhere.”