‘Really unknown’: Sydney suburbs that home owners never want to leave

Sydney home owners are holding onto their properties for as long as 20 years in some of the city’s most sought-after suburbs.

A sense of community, access to nature and plentiful local amenities are among the drawcards keeping residents in their neighbourhoods for lengthy periods of time.

House owners stay put the longest in Yarrawarrah in Sydney’s south, where there was a median hold period of 20.7 years among the properties sold over the year to November, on CoreLogic data.

It was followed by Cheltenham in the north and Bonnyrigg Heights in the west, which each had a median hold period of 20.3 years.

Houses were held for at least 19 years in Hassall Grove, Denistone, Abbotsbury and Castle Cove, and at least 18 years in St Johns Park, Manly Vale and Asquith.

CoreLogic head of Australian research Eliza Owen said demographic reasons are the key driver of long hold periods for property.

“Where you’ve got hold periods of up to two decades for houses that can reflect very family oriented areas where households are more concerned with staying in the community, growing into the community, than selling homes after they make a quick capital gain,” she said.

“A lot of these are really great parts of Sydney to live. Many of them are associated with what would have been young families in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and those families settle in over a long time.”

Long-term owners may be apprehensive about selling because they faced little tax incentive to downsize or because it may be expensive to buy back in.

“Holding in these areas, many of which are very established and don’t see the introduction of a lot of new dwellings, can be a massive increase to a family’s wealth. The downsizing incentive to unleash that wealth might not be there given the family home isn’t counted in the pension [assets] test, so a lot of people choose to stay in the family home.”

McGrath Engadine selling agent Rhys Christofa said many of his clients in Yarrawarrah have lived there 20 years or more.

He praised the proximity to the coast and Cronulla, scenic outlooks, schools and access to Engadine for shopping.

“It’s a really tightly held community,” he said.

He said his recent sellers have all been downsizers, while buyers are often coming from out of area such as the St George region or the inner west.

“It presents really good value for money. It’s a really unknown suburb too, not a lot of people know about it.”

The median house value in Yarrawarrah is $1.51 million, but Christofa said good quality homes cost well over $2 million.

In Cheltenham, near Beecroft, house owners hold for almost as long but the median house value is higher at $2.59 million.

McGrath Beecroft’s Belinda Hill is the third generation of her family to live in the same street in Cheltenham.

“It’s such a close-knit community,” she said. “It’s beautiful, it’s green, it’s easy access to the city.”

It is not unusual for her to sell for families who have lived there 30 years.

She set the suburb record last year at the auspicious price of $6,888,888, but said entry level properties start in the early $2 million range.

“There’s something for everybody unless you want a high-rise apartment in which case there’s nothing for you and that’s why we love it.”

On the northern beaches, Manly Vale houses are owned for a median 18.6 years, and the suburb has a median house value of nearly $2.93 million.

Manly Vale local Trish Rymer, 66, is selling after living in her home for 11 years, in a community of neighbours who have often stayed much longer.

Her family moved there to be near the children’s schools, and she praises the access to the beaches, the Manly Dam walking trails, bus routes, cafes and local shops.

“It’s a very tight, friendly network of people,” the consultant and former state government worker said. “It’s a very good community.”

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She said some neighbours still live in their childhood homes and others have been in place for 30 years.

But with her children grown, the family no longer needs five bedrooms and she and her husband are moving to Lake Macquarie – a decision that evokes mixed feelings.

Her home is listed through Clarke & Humel senior selling agent Garry Greco, who said Manly Vale offers larger block sizes than neighbouring suburbs plus cafes and shops.

“Fifteen years ago people would buy into Manly Vale because they couldn’t get any more east, any closer to the beach,” he said.

“Now it’s people coming from all over Sydney. They want to come to the northern beaches and they want to have a decent sized block and they want to have easy access to the city and the schools.”