Hobart's high-end property market: What's on offer, and what does it take to buy in?

November 5, 2019
Sandy Bay in Greater Hobart, where some of the city's finest properties can be found. Photo: Harcourts Signature Rosny Park

For many prestige buyers, Hobart represents an affordability eden, where grand estates and glossy seaside weekenders can be snapped up for a fraction of what they would cost in Sydney or Melbourne.

While rising house prices have created a barrier for some, Hobart remains the most affordable capital in Australia. And for those with plenty of cash in the bank, the prestige offerings come with very alluring price tags.

The Hobart suburb with the priciest median is Sandy Bay at $890,000, Domain’s September quarter figures show. That’s almost $190,000 less than the median for Greater Sydney, and well shy of the $6,042,500 median for Vaucluse.

That’s not to say more exclusive results don’t occur – in early 2017, a five-bedroom residence in Sandy Bay secured a price of $6.5 million.

The view from 8 St Canice Avenue in Sandy Bay. Pam Corkhill is seeking offers of more than $1.7 million. Photo: Knight Frank Tasmania

In Sandy Bay and neighbouring Battery Point, entry-level luxury properties can exchange for less than $2 million but, according to Mark Devine of Devine Property, waterfronts regularly sell for more

Mr Devine said most premium properties were character homesteads, with buyers often choosing to convert formal rooms into more modern spaces, like home theatres.

A location on the water added considerable value. “Hobart is no different from Sydney in that you have a harbour and people are able to live on the water, so those properties are priced [accordingly],” Mr Devine said. “And the closer to the city, the better.”

Beaumaris House at 7-13 Newcastle Street, Battery Point. Photo: Knight Frank Tasmania

The Battery Point landmark known as Beaumaris House fits the bill for a trophy home find. Scheduled for auction on November 30, the 11-bedder is best remembered for the zoo that operated on its grounds in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Jim Playsted of Knight Frank Residential said the house was expected to reach a sale price of $4 million or more, noting that its rich history had attracted interest from across the world.  He said there had been a steady flow of inquiries from interstate, with inspections mostly attended by locals.

Mr Playsted said there was more demand for homes like Beaumaris House since the NBN had made it easier for buyers to operate their businesses remotely. He also noted “the sudden popularity of Tasmania” in recent years.

The view from a grand New Town home at 27 Pirie Street. Photo: Knight Frank Tasmania

High-end homes can also be found scattered throughout Hobart in locales such as New Town, about three kilometres north-west of the CBD.

Deb Stephens from EIS Property sold a nine-bedroom Gothic Revival manor in New Town for $3.55 million last year. The deal for Stoke House set a new suburb record, Ms Stephens said.

“It was an extraordinarily large home for that area, with over 1000 square metres of living space, and the land was huge too,” Ms Stephens said. 

She said the residence, built in 1887, had seen interest locally and from interstate, with an overseas buyer ultimately claiming the keys.

Stoke House on Stoke Street, New Town, which last sold in 2018. Photo: EIS Property

For Ms Stephens, Battery Point, Sandy Bay and New Town were at the height of Hobart’s prestige market, but inner-city Hobart could also claim significant sales.

Further south, high-end home hunters can pay between $1 million and $2 million for a glamorous residence overlooking Mount Wellington in Blackmans Bay.

Modern properties of prestige calibre can exchange for between $1 million and $2 million in Blackmans Bay. Photo: Nest Property Sandy Bay

“If your home is contemporary, quite new, of a good size and has a view, then it is definitely going to sell for [more than] $1 million,” Todd Pepper of Nest Property Sandy Bay said.  “If you have something older on about 1000 square metres on the beach, you’d get that too.”

Mr Pepper said sales at more than $1 million were rare for Blackmans Bay, but he expected them to become more frequent, given rising prices and the quality of new builds and contemporary renovations.

He said the area was popular among mainland buyers seeking a change of pace.

They don’t want to buy in the suburbs like [the ones] they’ve just come from,” Mr Pepper said. “They really want something that’s got a view or an escape-to-the-country feel on an acreage, something they couldn’t afford in Sydney or Melbourne.”

35 Suncoast Drive, Blackmans Bay, which sold for $1.25 million in 2017. Photo: Nest Property Sandy Bay

Hobart’s prestige market still reflects value even as prices have risen in many blue-chip enclaves. Of the 10 suburbs with the highest medians in Hobart, half have seen year-on-year price growth, and all have seen significant gains over a five-year period.

Highest suburb medians in Greater Hobart, September 2019

MedianYoY change5 year change
Sandy Bay$890,000-1.40% 43.00%
West Hobart$706,0000.90% 45.60%
New Town$670,5009.00% 55.00%
South Hobart$607,500-2.80% 40.50%
Blackmans Bay$580,0003.60% 51.30%
Bellerive$565,000-2.80% 61.00%
Lenah Valley$560,000-0.10% 47.40%
Lindisfarne$550,00010.60% 48.60%
Howrah$521,000-0.80% 39.50%
Kingston $482,000 4.80% 41.80%

Source: Domain

Propertyology head of research Simon Pressley said owner-occupiers were primarily behind the city’s strong performance.

Mr Pressley said recovery in the Tasmanian economy had given locals increased confidence to purchase in the state, also pointing to savvy tourism campaigns wooing buyers from further afield.

He said quicker commute times, greener lifestyles and cheaper prices had helped to sway those from interstate. “You can buy a property for $1 million or $2 million, and that’s the luxury [stock] … that [buys] a pretty standard house in Sydney,” Mr Pressley said.

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