Canberra property market's top three surprises of 2016

The year has been marked by a series of surprises – with polls predicting the opposite outcome of Brexit and the US election. Our property market has had its share of surprises, too. Here are my picks for the year.

The rise of Queanbeyan

Queanbeyan is the No. 1 suburb to rent pushing Kingston into second place. This is based on properties leased during the first 11 months of the year. A total of 675 tenants moved to Queanbeyan while 639 moved to Kingston.

As rental prices rise, affordability is likely to be a key factor forcing tenants to look for value for money across the border. The two suburbs have almost $170 difference in the asking rent.

The median in Queanbeyan based on properties leased throughout the year to the end of November was $320 a week compared with a hefty $487.50 in Kingston.

Strength of auctions

The local auction market has performed surprisingly well this year. The highlight has to be the fierce bidding war that resulted in the hammer falling at $5,475,000 for a prestigious home in Yarralumla. This was the highest auction result on record for Canberra.

The region has also seen more detached homes sell successfully at auction. Out of all the homes sold throughout the first 11 months of the year, 35.1 per cent sold at auction compared with 29.2 per cent the year before.

All Canberra districts recorded an improvement in the number of homes sold by auction. The standout districts were the inner south and Weston Creek, with almost two-thirds of homes sold by auction.

House price growth

The upshot of strong house price growth has made for a record-breaking year. Just over one-third of Canberra suburbs set a record price, with records across all districts.

These prices are not necessarily those that fall into the million-dollar category. One of the region’s more affordable areas, Belconnen, had just over half of its suburbs set a record price. Gungahlin and Weston Creek also forged ahead with half of the suburbs achieving a record price.

Yarralumla has seen some astounding results, not only achieving the highest auction result but the suburb also had the record price broken twice this year alone.

A strong auction market and the number of records achieved this year reflect the strength in our housing market – conditions that are likely to continue into 2017.

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