Canberra buyers continue to flock to thriving Gungahlin

Gungahlin is only 25 years young but it is already home to just over 16 per cent of Canberra residents. This makes it the third largest district in terms of population size. The level of buyer demand reflects this, as the district accounted for the second highest volume of sales over the January 2016 quarter. According to the latest Allhomes data, demand slipped 1.4 per cent to 285 properties sold in the three months to the end of January. This is only four fewer sales compared to the same period last year.

Despite this minor slip in sales activity, buyers are certainly regaining confidence. More properties are being sold by auction across the territory as the market continues to revive. Gungahlin is no different. In the three months to the end of January, 38 properties were sold under the hammer. It is only a fraction of the total sales in the district at 13.3 per cent. But it is a vast improvement from 6.2 per cent of sales successful at auction during the same period last year. This also resulted in shaving three days off the time taken to sell, with properties spending on average 75 days on the market.

The region has undergone a significant transformation through private and public sector spending. The increasing facilities are one factor enticing families to the area. The population has doubled over the last decade alone. Offering a mix of property types, from entry-level to high-end homes, it is easy to understand why people are flocking to the region.

Gungahlin may not offer the large, established blocks that earmark the inner region of Canberra, which comes at a premium price. It is new, state-of-the-art homes that are Gungahlin’s key offering. In this sense perhaps the district offers buyers more home for the dollar rather than block size. The number of high-end homes sold has increased. Nine properties achieved more than a million dollars in the last quarter alone, and the region recorded the first $2-million-dollar-plus sale, located in Nicholls, late last year.

With the first high-rise development set to start at the end of the year, with blocks in the newest suburb Throsby sold this month, with the future development of the suburbs Kenny and Taylor, and with the prospects of light rail, it looks likely that Gungahlin is set to thrive.