Arncliffe an ‘affordable hot spot’

BY SANDRA SIAGIAN

ARNCLIFFE has emerged as one of Sydney’s most affordable suburbs within a 10-kilometre radius of the CBD.
The suburb was identified as one of 24 hot spots across Australia in St George Bank’s National Property Hotspots Report 2011 based on the value of housing in surrounding areas, demographic mix and amenities.
Five of the suburbs were from Sydney with Arncliffe followed by Eastlakes, Newtown, Potts Point and Sydenham.
St George Bank’s chief economist Besa Deda said common factors across the five Sydney locations were long-term annual price increases, renovation potential and position.
The report also revealed house prices in Arncliffe increased by 7.2 per cent on average each year and increased by 15.9 per cent in the past 12 months.
Figures from Fairfax-owned Australian Property Monitors showed that the median price of a house in Arncliffe as at March 2011 was $620,000 — compared with the median price of suburbs in the Rockdale council area of $685,000.
McGrath Real Estate agent Matthew King said Arncliffe attracted a number of buyers from the inner west with the market moving down from Newtown, St Peters and Sydenham. Mr King said Arncliffe offered great value in terms of price, position and was one of McGrath Real Estate’s top three suburbs for open houses in the St George region.
“Arncliffe is an established suburb with great architecture, bungalow-style properties with room for scope and there is good long-term growth,” Mr King said. ”
Across the whole board the demand for houses is in excess of supply so Arncliffe houses on the market sell quite quickly and they have been selling in excess of their reserve price.”
When Kim Townsend, 45, moved to Arncliffe with her family eight years ago, they updated their heritage-listed house with a few internal renovations. The Victorian-style theme remained while they transformed the floors and kitchen of the two-storey property.
Mrs Townsend said Arncliffe suited her family because it was close to their business in Newtown, close to the beach and there were plenty of schools nearby for her two daughters.
“It has a good inner-city feel and I like the racial mix of the area,” Mrs Townsend said. “We love old houses and Arncliffe has big blocks and a great mix of heritage and modern properties.”