Top Property

With 2018 shaping up as a challenging year for investors, property guru Terry Ryder and the sharemarket experts at Skaffold reveal, for the seventh year, where they see the greatest value. Property winners in 2017 included Indented Head and Jan Juc (both 20%-plus) in Victoria, Werrington (19%) in NSW and Sunshine Beach (21%) and Noosa Heads (19%) in Queensland. The Top 5 share portfolio delivered 4.7%, with individual returns ranging from an impressive 71% (Northern Star Resources) to a disappointing -50.8% (Vita Group).

- Terry Ryder

News of the death of the proper-ty boom has been greatly exag-gerated. Last year provided undeniable evidence of the wind-down of the Sydney boom but other cities are only getting started and show promise of strong growth in 2018.

Because far too much of media commentary about residential real estate comes from economists who don’t understand the complexities of our markets, you’re going to be reading a lot this year about “the end of the Australian property boom” and the likely decline in “Australian property values”. If you do come across this kind of coverage, which generalises about Australia as a single market, ignore it.

The eight capital cities delivered a fivespeed market in 2017 and the coming year is likely to show similar diversity.

Sydney’s growth will reduce to around zero, or be slightly negative, but some of the apartment markets with rising vacancies may have greater price declines.

Melbourne will show increasing signs of slowdown, with most of the standout growth markets being the affordable outer-ring suburbs or regional towns not far from the city.

But while the two big cities will no longer be booming, other capital cities and some of the regional centres will step up.

Canberra is just beginning its run and may be the price growth leader for 2018. Hobart, which ended 2017 as one of the strongest markets, will continue to attract mainland investors and show strong price growth.

Brisbane and Adelaide, which have shown only minor growth to date, are likely to be stronger performers in 2018. Both will be boosted by improved performance in their state economies.

Brisbane has created a serious oversupply in its inner-city unit market and smart investors will stay away, but some of its suburban house markets will do well.