THEY are the ‘unfashionable’ suburbs fast becoming the next Gen Y hot spots — driving up home values across Brisbane’s middle ring.
New data reveals more millennials are migrating to the ‘burbs’, with a wave of bright young things converting traditionally uncool suburbs into hipster hubs and starting their own baby boom.
Avocado toast is now firmly on the menu in Rochedale which has seen the number of 25 to 34 year olds more than double in just five years — jumping 123 per cent, according to Census data and CoreLogic research compiled by REA Group.
The suburb, 15km south of the CBD, is now known as one of the city’s million dollar postcodes, with a median house price of $1.055 million.
Home prices skyrocketed by 120 per cent from 2011 to 2016, while rents rose more than 60 per cent.
Millennials who bought there three years ago have enjoyed capital growth of more than 29 per cent in that time, but they’re also sitting on big mortgages.
Abdul and Amanda Osman had been renting a cramped apartment in inner-city Coorparoo for six years before buying a block of land in a Rochedale estate three years ago and building a big, four-bedroom home.
The pair, both 31, now have an 11 month old daughter and a lifestyle many would envy.
“We were looking for somewhere to settle down and raise a family and were interested in somewhere with a community feel that felt safe — somewhere where we could have a backyard and a dog and not be too far from the city,” Mr Osman said.
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He admits it would have been nice to stay in Coorparoo, closer to the cafe culture and city life.
“We did wrestle with that quite a bit and still get itchy feet looking at houses in those areas,” Mr Osman said.
“But we’re only 25 minutes to the city, so not that far away.”
Nick Yamada of Place Estate Agents, who has been selling real estate in Rochedale for the past seven years, said he had noticed the increase in young, professional couples moving to the area, which had encouraged new infrastructure and amenities in the suburb.
“There’s been several large shopping centres approved in the area and lots of applications for smaller shops, including a medical centre and a childcare centre,” he said.
After Rochedale, the suburbs of Wooloowin and Hamilton saw the next biggest increases in millennials, followed by Sunnybank, Coopers Plains and Bridgeman Downs.
Barry Herbert, a consultant with Ausbuild, said young families were paying upwards of $800,000 for a house and land package in the new Harrington Estate in Bridgeman Downs.
He said about a third of sales in the estate were to buyers under the age of 35.
“Young people want the complete package,” Mr Herbert said.
“They’re tending to borrow to the max to get themselves into a better property and they’ve got big mortgages.
“Some of the mortgages frighten me — but they’re content with them because interest rates are low.”
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REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said suburbs like Sunnybank, Coopers Plains, Stafford and Bridgeman Downs were likely to become more desirable because young people had the ability to transform a suburb’s facilities and housing stock.
“It’s a positive to have a lot of young people because when you look at jumps in capital growth in inner and middle areas, often it’s because the younger residents have the energy to renovate old homes and they start to demand better levels of retailing, cafes and restaurants,” Ms Conisbee said.
“And as they have kids, there is greater pressure on schools in the area to perform better.”
Ms Conisbee said the percentage of millennials moving to the more affluent inner-city suburbs of Wooloowin and Hamilton was more surprising, but was probably a reflection of the increase in apartments being built there in recent years.
“A lot of inner-city areas have seen strong apartment development, enabling people to get into the market at a lower price point,” she said.
There are now nearly 40 per cent more millennials living in Wooloowin than there were in 2011.
More than a third of the homes are rented, while 23 per cent own their homes outright.
Down the road in Hamilton, where the median house price is $1.13 million, the 25 to 34-year-old population has increased by a third since 2011.
Home prices have risen by more than 50 per cent, while rents have remained fairly steady.
Nearly 45 per cent of homes in Hamilton are rented.
SUBURBS WHERE THE MILLENNIAL POPULATION HAS BOOMED (2011 vs. 2016)
Suburb Percentage change Price growth Rent growth
Rochedale 123% 120% 64%
Wooloowin 38% 12% 10%
Hamilton 32% 52% 6%
Sunnybank 27% 42% 14%
Bridgeman Downs 25% 13% 5%
Coopers Plains 21% 35% 15%
Fairfield 19% 20% 7%
Albion 18% 16% 8%
Woolloongabba 16% 24% 6%
Stafford 15% 29% 8%
(Source: ABS Census data 2011 and 2016 and REA internal data)
Originally Published: http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au