Lake Macquarie Property Market Update 1st Half of 2021

In Q1 2021, Lake Macquarie recorded a median house price of $790,000, and a median unit price of $540,000. This represents annual (Q1 2020 – Q1 2021) median price growth of 19.7% for houses and a slight price softening of -1.8% for units. Between Q1 2020 – Q1 2021 total sales increased, by 23.2% for houses (to 186 sales) and by 21.9% for units (to 89 sales). With sales transactions increasing and median house prices rising, now is the time for homeowners to benefit in Lake Macquarie. The unit market is slightly more affordable for first home buyers, thus an opportune time to enter the market.

Average vendor discounts between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 have tightened to -2.5% for units and swung to a premium of +0.1% for houses. House market conditions in Lake Macquarie have now shifted to favour vendors, as buyers are willing to offer above the first listing price. Unit buyers can still enjoy a discount, however limited.

In March 2021, house rental yields in Lake Macquarie were recorded at 3.1%. In the 12 months to Q1 2021, the median house rental price increased by 6.0% to reach $530 per week, while average days on the market declined by -28.4% (to 15 days). Overall, this indicates Lake Macquarie's rental market has performed strongly throughout COVID-19.

2-bedroom houses have provided investors with +7.9% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $410 per week.

Also in March 2021, Lake Macquarie recorded an extremely low vacancy rate of just 0.3%, below that of Lake Macquarie LGA (0.5%) and well below Sydney Metro (3.4%). Vacancy rates in Lake Macquarie have continued to decline since May 2020 and remaining well below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. There is strong ongoing rental demand, suggesting investors can be confident of a conducive investment environment in Lake Macquarie.