PROPERTY searches by potential interstate buyers looking to snap up a new home in Tasmania have increased 29 per cent, new data shows.
It comes as local agents report an increase in inquiries from mainlanders keen to relocate to the Apple Isle or invest in their own “bug out” safe haven, free from COVID-19.
Over the past three months, realestate.com.au property search data shows that Hobart continues to attract the most attention, with Hobart City, Sandy Bay and West Hobart the most clicked on suburbs.
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Buyers in Melbourne, which has been under a strict level four lockdown due to outbreaks of COVID-19, have led the charge on Tassie property searches, with six of the top 10 ‘origin of searches’ coming out of the Victorian capital.
Melbourne’s popular Southbank precinct during stage four COVID-19 lockdown. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling
Interstate buyers in Brisbane (Inner City and South) and Sydney (City and Inner South; Inner West) are also actively searching for property in Hobart, the data shows.
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TOP 10 INTERSTATE LOCATIONS (SA4) SEARCHING HOBART PROPERTY
1. Melbourne – Inner
2. Melbourne – Inner South
3. Melbourne – West
4. Sydney – City and Inner South
5. Melbourne – South East
6. Melbourne – Inner East
7. Brisbane Inner City
8. Melbourne – North West
9. Sydney – Inner West
10. Brisbane – South
(Source: Top SA4s where most searches have come from (origin location) in the last three months, realestate.com.au)
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REA chief economist Nerida Conisbee said they often saw the most interest in the Hobart market coming out of Melbourne.
“I think Melbourne residents identify more with the climate, lifestyle and culture in Hobart than anywhere else,” she said.
“Whereas when you look at somewhere like the Gold Coast, it is people in Sydney who are dominating their property searches.”
17 Sonning Crescent, Sandy Bay is listed for a prices in the $2.5 million range (Charlotte Peterswald for Property)
Ms Conisbee said that while it was too early to tell if those property searches would translate into actual sales, she does believe that there will be some level of population shift, particularly if the pandemic continues to drag on.
Other popular suburbs being searched by potential interstate buyers include Lindisfarne, Howrah, Bellerive, Lenah Valley and Battery Point.
11 Fielding Drive, West Hobart is on the market for offers over $950,000 (Fall Real Estate)
It comes as social demographer Bernard Salt coined a new and emerging demographic in Australia – the VESPAs, Virus Escapees Seeking Provincial Australia.
Mr Salt said regions had, for far too long, lost their youngest and brightest to the big cities but the pandemic had forced many city-dwellers to think differently about where and how they live and work.
“Live in the regions, telecommute, start a business, come up to town as you must, once a week or, better still, once a fortnight. Members of the VESPA movement might well be surprised by the sophistication of regional living as well as the (low) cost,” Mr Salt said.
25 Malunna Road, Lindisfarne, could be yours for $550,000. Harcourts.
Median house sales prices in the Greater Hobart region have seen huge growth over the past five years, up 43.9 per cent, according to the latest REA Market Trends report for August.
That is higher growth than any other capital city in Australia, but the Tasmanian capital still offers a more affordable price point than the bigger cities.
The current median house sales price for Greater Hobart is $508,000 – almost $40,000 less than Greater Brisbane, $232,000 less than Greater Melbourne and a whopping $461,500 less than Greater Sydney.
Sydney traffic after a fire in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. Picture: 7News
However, Hobart landlords enjoy one of the best rental yields in the nation, a solid 4.81 per cent.
Charlotte Peterswald for Property director Kim Morgan said he was not surprised by the data.
“We have been seeing this trend for six weeks, maybe longer, Last week alone I personally fielded about half a dozen inquiries (from mainland buyers),” he said.
“And I think many of them are expats wanting to come back to Tasmania.”
Mr Morgan said he believed the importance of space and lifestyle were becoming more attractive, with many workers realising they no longer needed to be shackled to a city office.
He said while Victorians were the ones making the most inquiries, he had also taken calls from would-be buyers in Brisbane.
“You always made excuses for living in the populous and congested bigger cities because you felt chained to the office, but now that has changed, so has the priorities,” he said.
“I have sold properties, sight unseen, to people who will be relocating as soon as the borders open … when those borders open I think we will see a surge of people wanting to relocate to a better place.”
Mr Morgan said Tasmania saw a ”modest” population shift when the NBN was rolled out across the state, with people relocating and working from the state, often with their employment still in the big cities.
He said with more workers unshackled from their traditional offices, and able to work remotely, that trend was expected to be amplified.
Matthew Pollock with partner Lauren Daley and son Henry 8 months who moved from interstate around a year ago and have now bought a house in Hobart. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES
Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Mandy Welling said the Tasmanian housing market often boomed after major global events.
“After 9/11 and the Global Financial Crisis, when things calmed down a bit, our property market went crazy,” she said.
“The biggest concern is that we are already dealing with a massive supply and demand issue and I think there is a high chance that when the borders are relaxed we will see a massive influx of interstate buyers.
“And if prices start to take off again, people will fear they will miss out.”
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TOP 10 SUBURBS BEING SEARCHED BY INTERSTATE BUYERS/MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE
1. Hobart $745,500
2. Sandy Bay $943,000
3. West Hobart $730,000
4. South Hobart $641,000
5. Lindisfarne $602,500
6. Howrah $570,000
7. North Hobart $608,000
8. Bellerive $700,000
9. Lenah Valley $625,000
10. Battery Point $1.375 million
(Source: Top 10 most searched suburbs from out of state in the last three months, realestate.com.au)
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