Sydney’s newest million-dollar suburbs revealed

PHOTO: Theo and Claudine Katsiroubas with their children Johnny and James. Photo: Jessica Hromas

It was always known as a solid working-class suburb, a cheaper area that could make eager home buyers’ dreams come true and the first stop for migrants from Europe, then from Asia and the Middle East, looking to find their feet.

But today, Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west is one of our newest million-dollar suburbs – a prospect once considered unthinkable.

“It’s unbelievable,” says real estate agent George Kapos, principal of McGrath Bankstown. “It’s always been regarded as more affordable, and people have seen the value in what they can buy in the area, and that demand has been pushing the price up and up.

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“That gentrification is now happening too, with people are moving in and changing the landscape of Bankstown. They realise it’s such a good area with so many amenities and a lot of new infrastructure and a strong multicultural community, and that will continue to keep the price growing.”

Condell Park, Sydney. — *Bankstown’s new median house price of $1.1 million was once considered unthinkable. Photo: Ray White Bankstown*

Of the clutch of suburbs newly entering the million-dollar club, according to Domain’s latest Home Price Report, Bankstown has enjoyed the strongest price jump of all – 28.5 per cent last year alone, to a new median house price of $1.1 million.

The Canterbury-Bankstown staple tops the list of the other fastest-moving entrants, outdoing Leura in the Blue Mountains, which had a 26.9 per cent rise in the median price to $1.11 million, nearby Georges Hall up 23.9 per cent to $1,127,500, neighbour Greenacre with 23.5 per cent to $1,147,500 and Schofields in the west with 23.3 per cent growth to $1,023,750.

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“That million-dollar median was always a significant milestone for a suburb and used to indicate it was a significantly premium location,” says Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell. “But when you think the overall Sydney median is now $1.6 million, it makes, ironically, those new million-dollar suburbs look affordable.

“Sydney passed the million-dollar median in June 2015, so we’ve had a number of suburbs that once would have been considered very affordable now hitting that too. Over the past two years, prices have risen substantially, and they’ve dragged prices up with them in all areas.”

While that’s excellent news for home owners in these newly minted suburbs, it’s not such a significant landmark for those hoping to buy. Theo Katsiroubas, for instance, has lived in Bankstown for 34 years and loves the place, but he just hopes the dramatic price growth won’t scupper his chances of one day buying his own house there.

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“We are saving and want to buy something soon, but prices are going up and up and up,” says builder Theo, 48, who lives with his wife Claudine, 47, and their children Johnny, seven, and James, five. “It’s crazy to think the median price is now over a million dollars!

“We’re hoping to find something a bit cheaper that’s rundown and fix it up with a new kitchen and bathroom. It’s such a great place. You’ve got everything here you’d ever need – except, perhaps, the beach – but the kids walk to school, and there’s shops, transport and a great lifestyle.”

Theo was aged 14 when his family moved to Bankstown from Randwick, and he admits, at first, it was a shock. “We had been two minutes to the beach, and I’d assumed everywhere had a beach,” he said.

“Then I discovered Bankstown didn’t have one. But later I found out I didn’t miss it. I just liked the vibe here. Everyone is very friendly, and it’s a great community.”

Kapos seconds that. These days, the suburb has residents from over 160 countries, he reports, so it’s a lively and diverse place that’s welcoming to all. It has the train station, from which it’s a ride of only 30 minutes into the Sydney CBD, the line between Bankstown and Sydenham is being upgraded to metro rail standards, and the new $340 million, 18-storey Western Sydney University Bankstown CBD campus building is under construction.

“Geographically, it’s the centre of Sydney too,” says Kapos. “We have great schools, clubs and multiple restaurants, some of them very high quality. We offer a very cosmopolitan lifestyle in probably what’s one of the world’s most successful multicultural communities.”

The second strongest growth area of the new million-dollar list is Leura. A picturesque suburb with tree-lined streets, quaint cottages and big blocks, it’s been an enormous beneficiary of COVID-19 with everyone’s new focus on the quality of living.

“People are now investing in lifestyle, and Leura certainly promises that,” says Jack Johnston of Belle Property Blue Mountains. “It’s on the train line to the city and, with flexible working, and people working much more from home, it’s pretty convenient. There are also some lovely cafes, boutique clothing stores and great restaurants.”

Back in Canterbury-Bankstown, the next suburb west of Bankstown is Georges Hall, and that’s been undervalued for a long time, believes Matthew Everingham of Richard Matthews Real Estate. “But people are now discovering it,” he says.

“It’s fairly central, reasonably accessible to the M5, and offers big blocks of land yet is still affordable and a great family area, with schools and a lot of young families moving in. I’ve seen a real change in the last few years as it’s becoming better known.”

Some perhaps even more unlikely suburbs have just scraped into the million-dollar list, too, like Merrylands in the west that’s just snared a median of exactly $1 million after a 14.9 per cent rise in price over 2021. “If you can’t afford Parramatta, then you come to Merrylands, and if you can’t afford that, you go to Guildford,” says George Lattouf, principal of Laing + Simmons Merrylands.