Marrickville ranks alongside Redfern, Naremburn and Ryde as PRDnationwide’s 2012 housing hotspots

The inner-western Sydney suburb of Marrickville, described by John McGrath in 2010 as the “new Paddington”, has been picked as one of four Sydney housing hotspots for 2012 by property group PRDnationwide.

''It feels like Paddington in the 1970s. Buy here and double your money in the next six years,'' McGrath famously said two years ago.

The multi-cultural suburb, which has strong ties to the Greek and Vietnamese community, is 7 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD.

It ranked as the ninth most affordable suburb within 10 kilometres of the Sydney CBD, according to RP Data, which recorded 234 sales during 2011 and a median sales price of $751,000. PRDnationwide puts the median house price at $755,000.

“Located in close proximity to the suburbs of Enmore and Newtown, Marrickville has seen a solid increase in the median house price over recent times, with a five-year average growth of 7.2% per annum,” says Oded Reuveni Etzioni, PRDnationwide’s NSW research analyst, who picked this year’s list of top-performing suburbs.

“The expansion of the Marrickville Metro shopping centre, currently under council assessment, is likely to further increase the desirability of the suburb,” he says.

PRDnationwide’s other Sydney housing hotspots are Redfern, Naremburn and Ryde. 

Source PRD Nationwide

“Redfern’s location on the fringe of the Sydney CBD allows residents an easy commute to shopping and cultural facilities,” says Reuveni Etzioni.

“Benefiting from urban renewal projects and a location close to main arterial road and rail infrastructure, the suburb exhibits strong long-term growth despite a drop in median price in the 12 months to September 2011,” he says.

Similarly, Ryde is strategically well placed, located on the intersections of Victoria and Lane Cove roads and close to the employment hubs of Meadowbank and Macquarie Park.

“New development in Meadowbank will see more residential apartments being built on old industrial land and the Ryde town centre redevelopment is set to increase the amenity of area,” Reuveni Etzioni says.

Naremburn, where prices increased by 13.5% between December 2009 and 2010 but were softer in 2011, gets the nod because it is “strategically positioned to benefit from the development of the Gore Hill mixed-use business precinct, which upon completion will become a large regional employment hub”.

It will also benefit from the expansion of the Royal North Shore hospital, which will is likely to bring more medical professionals to the area.

According to Reuveni Etzioni, demand will increase in 2012 for well-located properties in the inner and middle ring of Sydney. 

“During times of uncertainty buyers return to the fundamentals of dwellings close to the CBD, with locations that are supported by a good public transport infrastructure,” he says. 

Units rather than houses will again be the dwelling of choice in these locations, he says, as more new developments are completed over the next 12 months. 

Other factors that motivated his selection of suburban hotspots include population growth, which drives increasing demand for properties and generally puts upward pressure on property prices; infrastructure and investment “to support current and future population increases and development of amenities”; and “employment opportunities and diversity, which includes proximity to employment nodes or potential job growth”.