How to create great post-Covid cities, and where we are right now

Australia's property market was more affordable than expected
Great cities need diversity in all aspects
Maintaining a safe and hygienic city is also paramount

The Australian property market has shocked millions as prices soared during the early years of the Covid pandemic. While many believed the housing market would crash in mid to late 2020, house prices did the polar opposite.

As first-home buyers and those looking to live the Great Australian Dream had to wait a little longer, most Australians were shocked to find that moving to regional Australia was just as tough, with amenities not up to scratch in many places, and prices skyrocketing by just as much, if not more than in the cities.

That shift meant essential workers across Australia were being unfairly shafted, unable to live close to where they were needed most, with many simply leaving nursing and other vital roles within the community.

The rental market was also unkind to the millions who either couldn’t afford a house or preferred the rental life. Indeed it was also unfair for the Australians who were pushed into the rental market for one reason or another.

Come 2022, the year of recovery turned into a year of regret for those believing interest rates wouldn’t budge, let alone take off at a record pace.

Not only did the cash rate surge, but inflation also meant Aussies had to tighten their belts that little bit more.

Australian house prices 6th in the world

Last year, Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index for Q2 2021 ranked Australia’s house price rises seventh in the world. Turkey led the pack with an almost 30% year on year change.

For Q3 of 2021, Turkey stayed at the top of the table (in nominal terms, but not when adjusted for inflation, that title went to South Korea), with Australia rising to fifth in the world for highest house price rises.

This year, the Q3 index shows Australia ranks tenth in the world… for largest house price drops (in nominal terms). Australia ranked 47th out of 56, the bottom five included South Korea, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.

Knight Frank Global House Price Index Q3 2022

Ranked by annual percentage change in nominal terms

Ranking	Country/Territory	Nominal Price Growth	Real price Growth (adjusted for inflation)
1	Turkey	189.2%	57.6%
2	Estonia	27.3%	4.5%
3	Hungary	23.7%	10.7%
4	Czech Republic	22.6%	4.7%
5	Iceland	22.6%	12.2%
6	Slovakia	21.9%	6.8%
7	North Macedonia	21.2%	5.8%
8	Israel	18.2%	13.2%
9	Latvia	16.5%	-2.4%
10	Slovenia	15.6%	4.7%
Ranking	Country/Territory	Nominal Price Growth	Real price Growth (adjusted for inflation)
47	Australia	1.5%	-5.4%
48	Malaysia	0.7%	-3.6%
49	Finland	0.0%	-7.5%
50	Ukraine	0.0%	-19.8%
51	Morocco	-0.3%	-6.9%
52	New Zealand	-2.0%	-8.6%
53	China (Mainland)	-2.2%	-4.2%
54	Peru	-4.7%	-12.4%
55	Hong Kong	-7.1%	-11.0%
56	South Korea	-7.5%	-12.4%

Source: Knight Frank.

As for sixth place? That’s according to the rankings when considering house price falls from their 2022 market peak from the Knight Frank data.

How do Australian cities compare?

The Property Tribune has already done a bit of that comparison earlier this week, with Knight Frank data showing the top ten price declines around the world included the Australian cities of Sydney and Darwin.

Top ten price increases also saw Adelaide on the list.

Comparing Australian state capitals with each other, also sees Sydney and Darwin bring up the rear:

Domain house price movements

Capital City	Sep-22	Jun-22	Sep-21	QoQ	YoY
Sydney	$1,464,371	$1,544,145	$1,506,727	–5.2%	–2.8%
Melbourne	$1,028,452	$1,075,008	$1,049,276	–4.3%	–2.0%
Brisbane	$811,312	$847,374	$715,834	–4.3%	+13.3%
Adelaide	$795,093	$790,100	$652,418	+0.6%	+21.9%
Canberra	$1,096,114	$1,163,851	$1,056,067	–5.8%	+3.8%
Perth	$645,946	$656,058	$598,912	–1.5%	+7.9%
Hobart	$741,275	$760,783	$682,208	–2.6%	+8.7%
Darwin	$623,819	$649,178	$652,561	–3.9%	–4.4%
Combined capitals	$1,022,194	$1,065,186	$999,620	–4.0%	+2.3%

Source: Domain

The unit market saw slightly different results year on year, with Sydney seeing substantially lower prices.

Capital City	Sep-22	Jun-22	Sep-21	QoQ	YoY
Sydney	$754,812	$778,884	$799,508	–3.1%	–5.6%
Melbourne	$561,121	$580,333	$574,136	–3.3%	–2.3%
Brisbane	$451,905	$451,905	$409,129	0.0%	+10.5%
Adelaide	$416,410	$406,254	$351,208	+2.5%	+18.6%
Canberra	$572,824	$598,095	$547,539	–4.2%	+4.6%
Perth	$356,755	$365,674	$366,874	–2.4%	–2.8%
Hobart	$549,135	$533,667	$538,520	+2.9%	+2.0%
Darwin	$364,192	$382,937	$360,493	–4.9%	+1.0%
Combined capitals	$599,082	$615,054	$611,243	–2.6%	–2.0%

Source: Domain

Where is the best place for families, and first-home buyers?

Well Money ranked best suburbs for families in November this year, with Tasmania’s Otago taking top honours, and South Australia’s Seaford Heights second place.

Western Australia’s Carine also made the list at 16th place, the only Perth suburb to make the top 20 list.

In July, The Property Tribune also looked into best suburbs for families, with two West Australian suburbs making the list: Boya, and Warwick.

The remainder was a cornucopia of east coast locations:

Top 20 suburbs to start a family

Rank	State	Suburb	Postcode	Median house price	Increase in inventory levels over past 3 months
1	QLD	Barellan Point	4306	$807,000	+3.3 months
2	SA	Willunga	5172	$607,500	+3.3 months
3	QLD	Mons	4556	$1,100,000	+3.2 months
4	WA	Boya	6056	$620,000	+3.0 months
5	QLD	Nudgee	4014	$855,000	+2.8 months
6	VIC	Gisborne	3437	$1,050,000	+2.7 months
7	VIC	Junortoun	3551	$750,000	+2.6 months
8	VIC	Silvan	3795	$1,395,000	+2.5 months
9	QLD	Camp Mountain	4520	$1,300,000	+2.5 months
10	QLD	Newport	4020	$1,350,000	+2.4 months
11	VIC	Selby	3159	$1,000,000	+2.3 months
12	WA	Warwick	6024	$630,000	+2.3 months
13	SA	West Lakes Shore	5020	$842,000	+2.2 months
14	WA	Edgewater	6027	$630,000	+1.9 months
15	NSW	Bolwarra Heights	2320	$940,000	+1.9 months
16	VIC	Torquay	3228	$1,330,000	+1.9 months
17	ACT	Curtin	2605	$1,421,000	+1.8 months
18	QLD	Black Mountain	4563	$950,000	+1.8 months
19	NSW	Saratoga	2251	$1,300,000	+1.7 months
20	VIC	Viewbank	3084	$1,270,000	+1.7 months

Source: Well Money.

Affordable locations, great for first home buyers was covered in August, with the top 20 surprisingly including Perth golden triangle suburb of City Beach.

Top 20 suburbs affordable and desirable locations

Rank	State	Suburb	Postcode	Type	Median Sale Price	Years of Income to Buy
1	ACT	Macquarie	2614	Unit	$300,000	3
2	WA	City Beach	6015	Unit	$579,000	3
3	WA	Aubin Grove	6164	Unit	$415,000	3.2
4	QLD	Wavell Heights	4012	Unit	$440,000	3.2
5	QLD	Camp Hill	4152	Unit	$520,000	3.2
6	SA	Mawson Lakes	5095	Unit	$333,000	3.3
7	QLD	Waverley	4154	Unit	$517,500	3.4
8	QLD	Ashgrove	4060	Unit	$507,000	3.4
9	SA	Plympton	5038	Unit	$285,000	3.4
10	QLD	Alderley	4051	Unit	$415,000	3.4
11	WA	Canning Vale	6155	Unit	$410,000	3.5
12	QLD	Bridgeman Downs	4035	Unit	$530,000	3.5
13	QLD	Norman Park	4170	Unit	$535,000	3.6
14	SA	Parkside	5063	Unit	$380,000	3.6
15	NT	Marrara	0812	Unit	$370,000	3.6
16	QLD	Paddington	4064	Unit	$529,999	3.7
17	QLD	Parkinson	4115	Unit	$420,000	3.7
18	QLD	Wayville	5034	Unit	$393,000	3.7
19	SA	Prospect	5082	Unit	$388,000	3.7
20	SA	Brooklyn Park	5082	Unit	$287,000	3.8

Source: Well Money.

Affordable places can be found in inner city locations too, with first home buyers not having to despair about an arduous hours long commute to the CBD.

The Property Tribune found great deals in accessible areas across the major cities too, including Granville (Sydney), and Richmond (Melbourne).

See the full list here.

Creating more livable cities

As part of CBRE’s recent Flow & Glow event in Sydney, leading experts discussed how to foster better cities, with a panel including CEO of Destination NSW, Steve Cox; Director of External Affairs and Programs, Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, James Hulme; Jennifer Di Bartolomeo, Head of Asset Services, Place & Experience, Office at Charter Hall; and Mick Gibb, CEO of Night Time Industries Association.

In a global city like Sydney, ranking third in the 2019 Global Liveability Index doesn’t imply an absence of its underlying shortcomings.

Gibb believes two of those challenges are young people being left out of the conversation of post-Covid recovery planning, and the misconceptions about the city’s stale nightlife.

“The argument that Sydney is dead is a complete furphy. There’s plenty happening. It’s about getting people to feel confident about being able to go out, that there’ll be something on, and that they’ll be able to get home safely.

“There are options available; it’s rethinking how do we see Sydney and our night life.”

The latter point is a significant observation shared by Hulme who heads the 24-hour economy program for Investment NSW.

“Safety is a major priority for our office. Everything we do is about how to make the going out experience memorable for young or vulnerable people. Sydney is the fourth safest city in the world. It’s a good place to be but we’re not complacent,” he says.

“There’s some really interesting use of technology. There are Bluetooth apps to track where your friends are. Safety used to be about physical harm, but hygiene and cleanliness is now a priority as well.”

Building a world class future city takes tenacity, planning and patience. For Cox, who recently led the return of Sydney’s iconic Vivid Sydney festival after a major pandemic hiatus, diversity is paramount in drawing out the masses.

“We’re always mindful of the diversity of our offer. We want to be the major events capital of Asia Pacific. It doesn’t mean having three major sporting events; it means having diversity across sports, culture and blockbuster pieces. And underneath that, having the best shows, concerts and exhibitions in our galleries and museums.

Diversity also covers the three tiers of local, domestic and international tourists.

“The NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 is our north star. When you develop work to come out of that initiative, you think about advocacy at the local level. We need to build advocacy of the people who live in this city and get them to talk more positively, engage and experience it.

“The more we experience, the more we advocate to tell visitors to go to those places or see those things. It builds excitement into the city and that’s what brings people in to invest alongside businesses and students.”