Maroubra sees 269% increase in FHB activity: NAB

New lending data from National Australia Bank (NAB) has revealed which areas are growing in attraction to first home buyers.

The major bank’s data has shown that a number of metropolitan and regional areas have experienced strong growth in first home buyer activity (FHB) in the June quarter when compared to the first three months of the year, despite a drop in property sales throughout the year.

The eastern Sydney suburb of Maroubra saw the greatest spike in FHB activity – increasing by 269 per cent in the June quarter, according to NAB’s data.

In fact, Sydney suburbs have proved to be the most popular areas with first home buyers generally, with Greater Sydney and Western Sydney also gaining interest.

For example, the 2142 postcode, which includes Granville (on the outskirts of Parramatta), saw FHB activity increase by 264 per cent.

Also included in the hotspot list for Sydney were postcodes of:

• 2767 (Bungarribee, up 137 per cent)
• 2765 (Melonba, up 124 per cent)
• 2763 (Quakers Hill, up 56 per cent)
• 2113 (North Ryde, up 47 per cent)
• 2145 (Wentworthville, up 34 per cent)

Regional NSW saw two additional hotspots, including Dapto (up 79 per cent) and Orange, which increased 40 per cent.

The South Eastern Melbourne suburbs also received plenty of attention, such as Dandenong that increased by 80 per cent, due to the “great value and location”.

Other top areas in Victoria included Richmond, which increased by 66 per cent (returning to the list from 2021), Endeavour Hills (up 45 per cent), Clyde North (up 16 per cent), Frankston (up 12 per cent) and the regional areas of Belmont (up 69 per cent) and Sunbury (up 36 per cent).

Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley grew 78 per cent between April and June, making it another first home buyer hotspot, along with Beenleigh (up 34 per cent), North Lakes (up 23 per cent) and Kallangur (up 18 per cent) for the metropolitan areas.

Regional Queensland saw growth in Bundaberg come in 85 per cent over the quarter, followed by East Mackay (up 42 per cent), Beechmont (up 16 per cent) and Toowoomba (up 12 per cent). 

However, the area that experienced the highest number of growth was the 2602 postcode in the ACT.

The suburbs of Ainslie and Watson more than tripled their FHB activity, up 360 per cent when compared to the previous quarter. Queanbeyan and Weston also experienced growth of 42 and 26 per cent respectively.

Western Australia had the strongest regional growth, with Bunbury increasing by 125 per cent followed by the metropolitan areas of Karrinyup (up 41 per cent), Queens Park (up 37 per cent), Brabham (up 31 per cent) and Wanneroo (up 19 per cent).

Adelaide only brought one area to the hotspot list with the 5114 postcode, which includes Blakeview, growing by 90 per cent.

NAB executive home ownership Andy Kerr attributed the benefits of hybrid working environments to opening up more options for Australians to buy homes in areas they would not have considered before.

“Flexible working is one of the biggest trends over the last decade when it comes to changing the game for property sales,” Mr Kerr said.

“The option to work from home is giving first home buyers more choice when it comes to location. All of a sudden, a slightly longer commute when made a few times a week becomes a serious consideration.”

NAB released its June quarter results in early August 2022, reporting a lending and deposit boost in the wake of its $1.2 billion acquisition of Citi.

[RELATED: NAB reports lift to lending, deposits following Citi acquisition]