When Wollongong was revealed as Australia’s third most expensive city this year it caused many to wonder if the statisticians had got their numbers in a twist.
But for anyone who had bothered to let their property gaze drift beyond Sydney, the insight came as no surprise. The more pertinent question might have been, what took it so long.
Like many industrial cities Wollongong’s fortunes have risen and fallen in tune with its major employers – steel and coal mining. The downturn in steel production at Port Kembla dealt the Illawarra a blow, yet far from a knockout punch.
Wollongong has been forced through hard times to broaden its economic base, building on the attributes that any traveller coming across the Bulli Tops could never miss – an incredible coast line and beaches, and proximity to Sydney.
It’s proximity that is driving real estate prices. Hit the highway at 5am any day of the week and you’ll see a convoy of utes all heading north for work in Sydney. Sharing the road with them are office workers who’ll drive to Sutherland, park the car and finish the journey to the CBD by rail. The train is packed in both directions – workers going north, students heading south to the Illawarra’s other great asset, the University of Wollongong.
The vast spread of the Royal National Park means that the two cities will never physically merge into one but increasingly Wollongong and its surrounding suburbs are being eyed off by Sydney residents who’ve been priced out of the metropolitan market and families who see the advantage of selling up and moving to a city that is affordable by Sydney standards.
But the affordability advantage is fast disappearing, as the data makes all too apparent. Track the median prices north of Wollongong and they rival Sydney. It’s not until south of steel city that a buyer eyeing off a bargain will find something that tips the scales in their favour.
Richardson & Wrench this week opened a new business in Dapto, its first in the Illawarra after an absence of several years. It’s a strategic move on both sides of the agreement. There’s been plenty of growth in this market already but there’s much more to come as Sydney looks south to a location where you can still pick up house and land in a new subdivision for under $650,000 and the median price in the established market is around $500,000.
For our new franchisees, converting from a MMJ office, it’s a move that provides them with the advantage of a full service franchise groups and positions them to take advantage of the growth that is coming their way. Today there are 11,000 dwellings in Dapto but with plenty of available land for new subdivision another 5000 homes are forecast in the next five years. In 20 years the population across the Illawarra region is expected to hit around 471,700 an increase of over 16 per cent from today’s numbers.
The decision by Alan Chaffers, John Tisma, and Bradd O’Brien, directors of the new R&W Dapto office to join the network is just the beginning of what is anticipated to be a much greater presence in the Illawarra. Watch this space.