Property Wealthy Weekly (April 29)

UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF GREENSPACE AT YOUR OWN PERIL

Whilst the intrinsic value of living near natural lifestyle amenities such as parks and outdoor recreational facilities has never been understated, just how much of a correlation can be seen between the proximity of these greenspaces and an area’s property prices?

AUSTRALIA’S PROPERTY MARKET APPEARS TO BE LOSING A LITTLE STEAM AS PRICE GROWTH BEGINS TO SLOW – BUT THE ‘BOOM TIME’ IS NOT OVER YET

Australian property prices may be approaching a ceiling after one of the fastest growth periods on record.

JUST 1.2 PER CENT OF RENTAL PROPERTIES IN AUSTRALIA ARE AFFORDABLE FOR MINIMUM WAGE EARNERS, ANALYSIS FINDS

Australia’s rental market is becoming increasingly dire for low-income earners and welfare recipients, according to a new national analysis of the housing market.

SYDNEY’S 8.5% QUARTERLY HOUSE PRICE RISE LARGEST IN THREE DECADES

Sydney’s property market has recorded its largest quarterly increase in almost three decades, with the median cost of a house in the emerald city now a staggering $1.31m.

FEATURE ARTICLE

UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF GREENSPACE AT YOUR OWN PERIL

Whilst the intrinsic value of living near natural lifestyle amenities such as parks and outdoor recreational facilities has never been understated, just how much of a correlation can be seen between the proximity of these greenspaces and an area’s property prices?

Given the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, where many Australians opted for a sea-change or tree-change, or simply to upgrade to a larger suburban home from the city centres, a higher value has never been placed on an individual’s neighbourhood.

In line with Earth Day 2021, CoreLogic committed its resources to explore the correlation between these two factors, with significant analysis into Sydney’s property market in their latest “Property & Greenspace” report.

 

Parks Victoria conducted a similar study in the year 2013, where it was found that if a property was located directly adjacent to a park in metropolitan Melbourne, the value of the home increased by approximately 5-7% on average. Another similar study was conducted by Mcintosh in Perth in 2014, which heralded almost identical results.

Corelogic’s Head of Research, Tim Lawless, stated that “Our case study revealed a positive correlation between housing values and greenspace, however the correlation across the broad Sydney region was not strong, implying a lot of other factors are involved in determining the value of a residential property.”

In a wildly different environment to some of the world’s other major capital cities, approximately half of Sydney is made up of greenspace (46%), including a number of popular parks, gardens, bushland, and other outdoor recreational facilities, which draws a stark comparison to cities such as Amsterdam, where just 13% of the city is made up of greenspace.

It has been hypothesised that given the 46% greenspace coverage throughout the city, its wide availability has diminished the direct effect it has on property values. Lawless stated, “This indicates residents and authorities may place more value on greenspace where it’s less accessible.”

Although this doesn’t mean that the correlation is insignificant for the city, as Lawless explains “we can see a clearer relationship between private greenspace and housing price premiums .” In the more densely populated areas of Sydney, such as the Eastern suburbs, there was found to be a far stronger correlation between private greenspace and surrounding property prices. Greenspaces in these areas were seen to increase prices by around 26.6% for houses, and 20.6% for units, showcasing their true value when scarcely available.

Highest Proportion of Private Green Space

As the urbanisation of Australia’s cities continues to become more prominent in coming years, it is likely that the impact of these greenspaces will become more significant for property prices. Furthermore, changes to the environment could push the envelope further, “As Australia’s climate change strategies and domestic policy evolve over the years ahead, the market’s readiness to value ‘greenness’ as a tangible property feature may strengthen,” Lawless explained.

Whilst we don’t have a crystal ball to predict how property prices will change into the future, these aforementioned factors suggest that whilst greenspace does have a small to medium impact on property prices at the present time, this impact is likely to grow exponentially, and therefore an investment in a property near to such amenities should see growth supported in such a manner.

If you’d like to discuss your investment options with an industry professional, request a 1:1 strategy session with a Senior Property Coach below, where you can receive tailored investment advice, completely free!

CLAIM YOUR FREE STRATEGY SESSION BELOW

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION

Email Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.