Real estate agents share their top property picks for 2019

Potential homebuyers may be able to take advantage of the weakening housing market this year to get into neighbourhoods they previously thought were out of reach, agents say.

And new infrastructure is set to offer a boost to areas that, in the past, may have been overlooked.

As prices come off the boil in some of the capital cities, strategies that can make sense include upgrading or making minor renovations.

Here are some of the top picks for 2019 from real estate agents around the country.

John Bongiorno, Marshall White sales director, Melbourne

The first half of the year will offer good opportunities for buyers in blue-chip inner Melbourne suburbs, Mr Bongiorno said.

“It’s a great time for people to get into the areas they possibly haven’t been able to afford,” he said.

“The blue-chip areas have been knocked about heavily in some respects and probably overdone just a touch.”

He highlights Port Melbourne, St Kilda East, pockets of Richmond and even Brighton: “Areas that a lot of buyers wouldn’t have thought that they could afford are going to fall in their price range.”

Take a look at properties that passed in last year, he suggests.

Matt Lahood, The Agency chief executive, Sydney

The new light rail in Sydney will open up suburbs that have previously had scant public transport, Mr Lahood said.

He suggests Kingsford and Kensington, in the city’s east near the University of NSW and Randwick Racecourse, are set to benefit from the new infrastructure project.

“The reason people haven’t bought in the past is there’s no real infrastructure,” he said.

“All these shops are going to appear around the light rail, they’re going to have cafes popping up.”

Charles Tarbey, Century 21 chairman, Sydney

Looking at the state of the different housing markets around the country, Mr Tarbey suggests options beyond the east coast capitals.

Perth and Adelaide are his top picks for the year ahead.

“The downward trend in Perth is fairly minor in comparison to what else is going on, in my view,” he said, adding that the market there had been in its trough for some time.

“Mining’s a lot more structured and organised … there’s more stability in the market than we’ve seen for a long time.”

Most parts of Adelaide are “very well priced” compared to other cities and the economy is picking up.

Paul Arthur, Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty chief executive, Gold Coast

As buyers move from the southern capitals into south-east Queensland in search of a laid-back lifestyle and more affordable homes, Mr Arthur is upbeat on the region’s prospects this year.

In Brisbane, he likes the detached housing market in the city fringe within five to 10 kilometres of the CBD.

He picks Kalinga and Wooloowin in the north, as cafes and restaurants pop up and young families move in.

On the Gold Coast, he highlights the southern neighbourhoods of Palm Beach, Currumbin and the Burleigh area, as well as Carrara for its new infrastructure and sporting facilities.

William Porteous, director of William Porteous Properties International, Perth

After Perth’s housing market had been affected by the end of the resources boom, the sought-after western suburbs were now good value, Mr Porteous said.

Mosman Park and Peppermint Grove are his top picks for the year ahead.

“They’ve been depressed so much that they’re fantastic buying,” he said.

“Even though a lot of them are upmarket, they’re still very cheap.”

Richard Jellis, Jellis Craig founding director, Melbourne

Amid the softer market, Mr Jellis’s top pick is not a suburb but a strategy.

Falling prices offer a great time to upgrade to the next rung of the property ladder, he said.

If a homeowner’s property falls in value by 5 per cent, and they want to buy a more expensive house that has also fallen by 5 per cent, the discount on the new home is greater than the drop on their current residence.

“There is an argument to be made [that] there’s value in going upmarket,” he said.

Jason Andrew, Ray White Sydney Blue chief executive, Sydney

Minor renovations can be a good strategy in the current market, Mr Andrew said.

“I’ve always been a big believer [in] anything you can add your own value to,” he said.

For example, adding an additional bedroom, adding a deck, or knocking down a wall to improve a view can add to the resale value of a house without doing a full overhaul.

He also recommends thinking about how a property can appeal to a range of future buyers.