The Australian suburbs where buyer interest in houses is BOOMING as coronavirus crisis changes work patterns

Australian home hunters are increasingly looking to buy a house in an outer suburb a long way from the city centre.

The ability to work from home instead of commuting into a central business district office is changing buyer tastes, data from online property sales site Domain has revealed.

This change is particularly pronounced in Sydney's outer south-west where serious searches - involving home inspections and multiple viewings of property listings - soared by 27.3 per cent in the four weeks to September 6.

Australian home hunters are increasingly looking to buy a house in an outer suburb a long way from the city centre. In Sydney's outer south-west where serious searches - involving home inspections and multiple viewings of property listings - soared by 27.3 per cent in the four weeks to September 6. Pictured is a Picton house

Buyer interest in the Wollondilly Shire Council area - taking in the towns of Picton, Tahmoor and Bargo - was was almost triple greater Sydney's average monthly increase of 9.5 per cent.

Outer suburbs enticing potential buyers

Wollondilly Shire, outer south-west Sydney: up 27.3 per cent

Mudgeeraba and Tallebudgera, Gold Coast hinterland: up 44.3 per cent

Weston Creek, western Canberra: up 13.9 per cent

Playford City, Adelaide's north: up 31.2 per cent 

Source: Domain Buyer Demand Indicator of serious home searches in the four weeks to September 6 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March, buyer interest in this bushland area along the Old Hume Highway has surged by 73.7 per cent. 

Picton's median house price of $617,000 is also much cheaper than Sydney's mid-point value of $986,000, CoreLogic data showed.

Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said white collar professionals who could work from home were increasingly attracted to outer suburbs that offered lifestyle and value.

'Lifestyle locations that offer affordability where buyers can purchase larger blocks, people are seeing these outer areas,' Dr Powell told Daily Mail Australia.

'Working from home has become the new normal so they're starting to look further afield.'

Outer areas of Sydney, in particular, were becoming more enticing as the digital transformation of workplaces negated the need for a long commute to work.

'While a tree-change or sea-change from higher-density living has always been appealing, the commute into the city has been a strong enough deterrent for many,' Dr Powell said.  

'Many Sydneysiders will continue to work from home or split on a part-time basis, making the distance between our homes and work less crucial.'

The Gold Coast hinterland area was also popular with potential buyers, with serious searches in Mudgeeraba and Tallebudgera (house pictured) soaring by 44.3 per cent in just four weeks - significantly above nearby greater Brisbane's 1.4 per cent increase. Committed searches have soared by 172.7 per cent since the start of the coronavirus crisis six months ago

The Gold Coast hinterland area was also popular with potential buyers, with serious searches in Mudgeeraba and Tallebudgera area soaring by 44.3 per cent in just four weeks - significantly above nearby greater Brisbane's 1.4 per cent increase.

Committed searches have soared by 172.7 per cent since the start of the coronavirus crisis six months ago.

Buyer interest by city

SYDNEY: Houses up 9.5 per cent, units up 4.5 per cent

MELBOURNE: Houses down 13.8 per cent, units down 19.7 per cent

BRISBANE: Houses up 1.4 per cent, units down 9.6 per cent

PERTH: Houses up 11.4 per cent, units up 18.4 per cent

ADELAIDE: Houses up 31.2 per cent, units up 14.1 per cent 

CANBERRA: Houses up 4.9 per cent, units down 1.0 per cent

HOBART: Houses down 4.3 per cent, units up 6.3 per cent

DARWIN: Houses up 43.7 per cent, units up 29.1 per cent 

Source: Domain Buyer Demand Indicator for the four weeks to September 6 based on advanced searches

Canberra, the home of federal public servants, is also in on the trend with buyer interest in the western suburbs of Weston Creek soaring by 13.9 per cent - more than double the Australian Capital Territory's monthly increase of 4.9 per cent.

Adelaide's northern suburbs were also popular, with buyer interest soaring by 49.3 per cent in the Playford council area covering poorer suburbs like Elizabeth.

This was an even bigger increase than the South Australian capital's already impressive 31.2 per cent.

Melbourne was the only capital city to see a plunge in both house and apartment interest, following Stage Four lockdown bans since an August 2 on open home inspections and public auctions across the city.

Interest in houses dived by 13.8 per cent in four weeks, with the slump even more severe than April during the first full month of the earlier lockdowns.

Dr Powell put that down to potential buyers being uncomfortable with purchasing a home they hadn't seen.

She expected a 'pretty swift' rebound to occur, particularly in the Mornington Peninsula on the edge of Port Phillip Bay once Victoria eased coronavirus restrictions and managed to contain the virus. 

'Once lives return to near-normal, the commute to the office will play a less crucial role in deciding the location we reside, it may be one of the reasons for a shift in demand to Mornington Peninsula,' she said.

'While the lockdown has forcibly introduced working from home, the concept is likely to stay for businesses able to transition permanently.'

Regional Victoria markets saw a surge in buyer interest despite groups of ten people or more being banned.

Warrnambool, on the western end of the Great Ocean Road, saw a 63.3 per cent monthly increase in serious buyer enquiries.  

Canberra, the home of federal public servants, is also in on the trend with buyer interest in the western suburbs of Weston Creek soaring by 13.9 per cent - more than double the Australian Capital Territory's monthly increase of 4.9 per cent