According to the survey, the local real estate industry is bullish about the strength of the residential housing market. “All agreed that the main strength in the new house market was ‘conventional’ residential housing, which made up to 90 per cent of the market,” said Ian Coghlan, leader of the CSU research group.
“The ‘conventional’ homebuyer was looking for a new, ‘free standing’ house with three-to-four bedrooms and two bathrooms on a residential block of between 650 and 1000 square metres,” Mr Coghlan said.
“However, retirees are looking for smaller residential blocks that are easier to maintain, or housing units or town houses. This has important implications for future developments targeting older home buyers, particularly as Australia’s population ages,” he said.
According to the study, which aimed to find factors that influenced buyers of residential property in Albury-Wodonga, central Albury was the most popular neighbourhood in Albury, while central Wodonga topped in Wodonga.
The Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation (AWDC) housing development at Thurgoona was successful, as Thurgoona residents strongly preferred their area.
Lifestyle was considered more important than price in selecting a neighbourhood, according to the research findings. The most important considerations – in order – were: access to shops and facilities; reputation of the area; security; open spaces; access to schools; price; and availability of public transport.
In choosing a residential block, the most important consideration was the view, and then size, neighbouring developments, block shape and price.
Commissioned by the AWDC, the study results are drawn from responses from interviews, focus groups and telephone and mail surveys that included the real estate and building industries and households across Albury-Wodonga.
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