Source: Nerida Conisbee, Chief Economist at REA Group
Bondi and Manly fight it out for position as top beachside suburb in Sydney, and Cross Street in Mosman comes out as the most popular street in Australia.
Bondi versus Manly: Which beachside suburb wins?
Looking at a range of measures we track regularly on realestate.com.au, we've compared Bondi and Manly to determine which beachside suburb comes out on top.
- Most expensive to buy: For both units and houses, Manly is more expensive to buy (Manly's median house price is $2.8 million and median unit price is $1.25 million, compared to Bondi where it's $2.2 million for a house and $1.1 million for a unit).
- Most expensive to rent: Manly is also more expensive to rent (Manly is $1,500 per week for a house and $750 per week for a unit compared to Bondi, which is $1,285 per week for a house and $695 per week for an apartment).
- Strongest price growth (over one year): Prices have declined a lot in Bondi and Manly over the past 12 months, but Bondi has held its value best over this time period for houses. Manly has done better for units (Manly declined by -15% for houses and -8% for units compared to Bondi which was -10% for houses and -13% for units).
- Strongest rental growth (over one year): It has been good for renters over the past 12 months with rents declining for most property types in both Manly and Bondi. Bondi unit rents have dropped the most while for houses Manly has seen the biggest decline (Manly declined by -2% for houses, 0% for units compared to Bondi, which was -1% for houses and -5% for units).
- Highest yield: If you are an investor, Bondi units offer the best yield. The lowest yield is for Manly houses (Manly has 2.7% yield for a house, 3.5% yield for a unit compared to Bondi, which is 2.8% for a house and 3.8% for a unit).
- Highest views per buy listing: Demand from buyers is highest in Manly for houses and for units.
- Highest views per rental listing: For renters, houses in Bondi are in higher demand while for units it is Manly.
- Most popular with overseas property seekers: Bondi is more popular with property seekers from the US and Canada. Manly is more popular with property seekers from the UK, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, Indonesia, Philippines and Germany. Property seekers from Hong Kong, India, China and South Korea don't really search either.
So, which is better? For renters, Bondi wins – it is cheaper and rents have declined over the past 12 months. For investors, it is also Bondi – prices have declined but have held value slightly better. And despite the rental decline, yields are generally better.
Buyers, however, show a strong preference for Manly over Bondi. We see higher views per listing and it sees much higher demand from a wider range of countries when it comes to overseas search.
Cross Street is the most popular street in Australia
Toorak may be the most desired $3-million-plus suburb in Australia but at a street level, Cross Street in Mosman is the clear leader when it comes to the most clicks.
Over the past three years, houses on this street have seen twice as much activity on realestate.com.au as the number two: Winifred Crescent, Toorak.
In fact, Mosman streets are the most prolific on the list, with four of the top 10 in this suburb.
At a street level, prestige locations come up far more often in the most viewed list.
At a suburb level, it tends to be more mixed and often reflects the stage of the property market cycle we are in – right now premium suburbs are topping the most in demand, consistent with early cycle.
In 2016, we were seeing much cheaper suburbs receiving more activity. Once we get to street level, Australian's love of 'property porn' becomes far more apparent.
Clearance rates
This week there were 1,265 auctions in Melbourne and 762 in Sydney.
Auction numbers exceeded the same time last year in Melbourne (1,132) and are still down in Sydney (1,035 last year). Clearance rates remain high, 77% in both Melbourne and Sydney as at Sunday morning.