There are really two questions to answer: 1. Why are first home buyers and property investors investing in Canberra? and 2. Why are they investing in apartments?
Maloney’s Property has 30 years of experience helping first home buyers and property investors get into the Canberra property market and would like to share their experience as to why so many people see apartments as a good investment in Canberra.
So, let’s get started.
Why are first home buyers and property investors buying in Canberra?
To understand why Canberra is such a great market to invest in property, you only need to look at some of the major demographics:
- Canberra is a planned city with excellent infrastructure and provision of services such as health and education.
- Canberrans have an average weekly income of $917. The national average weekly wage is $577.
- 4.5 per cent of Canberrans have a postgraduate degree. The national average is 1.8 per cent.
- With a population of almost 550,000, Canberra boasts six tertiary education institutions:
- Australian National University
- University of Canberra
- UNSW Canberra
- Australian Catholic University
- Charles Sturt University
- Canberra Institute of Technology
- In 2014, the OECD awarded Canberra the World’s Most Liveable City.
- Lonely Planet named Canberra the world’s third-best city to visit in 2018.
- realestate.com.au and Ipsos Life named Canberra as Australia’s most liveable city – and the second most hygienic city on the planet from 2017 to 2019.
- There are 140 vineyards within 40 minutes of Canberra and in 2023 boasts 20 Chef Hat restaurants.
- On average, Canberra has a great climate with 246 days of sunny weather.
- According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the January 2023 Labour Force Statistics showed that at 3 percent, the ACT’s unemployment rate was the lowest in Australia.
There you have it; Canberra is a very attractive and safe place to live and work.
Why are investors and first home buyers choosing to buy apartments in Canberra?
The team at Maloney’s Property would like to share with you the following ten reasons:
- The major reason is that apartments are a lot more affordable than houses in Canberra. The Domain 2022 December House Price Report showed the average price of a house in Canberra to be almost $1.1m, compared to almost $570,000 for an apartment. This means that apartments are, on average, $530,000 more affordable than an apartment.
- Apartments prices in Canberra are 21.5 percent higher than before the pandemic property boom.
- With rising interest rates and cost of living, many first home buyers are looking at apartments as their most attractive option for a home or investment.
- If your loan amount is smaller, it means that your mortgage and savings deposit will also be smaller – and you will be able to enter the property market faster.
- Maintenance costs are usually smaller for apartments than for houses. The body corporate will usually be responsible for things like gardening, security, and roof repair.
- Apartments can encourage a sense of community and friendships that are more difficult to build living in a house.
- Apartments are usually in better locations than houses. Closer to entertainment, cafes and restaurants. More centrally located in cities and close to public transport and employment centres.
- Apartments may also have pools, tennis courts, gyms and communal BBQ and dining spaces.
- If you are concerned about climate change, then apartments are usually more efficient in heating and cooling than houses, take up less footprint and use fewer materials in construction.
- Investing in an apartment in Canberra will free up more of your income to cover the cost of living rises, travel, and live a more stress-free life.
If you are a first home buyer or property investor interested in buying an apartment in Canberra, then Maloney’s Property would love to hear from you.
