It’s time to drop the idea that Sydney market is weakening. While it may be true in some parts of the city, Western Sydney is bucking the trend. In fact, a recent study showed that Western Sydney is well and truly booming.

The Future City Minds report, commissioned by specialist recruitment agency Michael Page, found that 64% of Australian professionals believe that, in the next five years, the area has the potential to progress economically to the level of the CBD areas of Sydney or Melbourne. 91% of Australian professionals in the region, meanwhile, would like to change their jobs to work closer to home, given the right opportunity. 

The research also noted that Western Sydney is already Australia’s third largest economic region and is home to 47% of Sydney’s population and up to 70 nationalities.

The region was also projected to have a 1.9% population growth each year for the next 20 years, and this, consequently, will likely provide 200,000 new jobs by 2020, according to Michael Page.

Even better: Growth in sectors across property, infrastructure and construction, manufacturing, sales and service-related industries are already expected.

To further guide interested investors, Your Investment Property (YIP) chatted with Scott Timbrel (ST), Director of Western Sydney for Knight Frank, few weeks ago.

YIP: What kind of properties can investors look at in Western Sydney?

ST: The market in Western Sydney is extremely strong currently, with assets being sold for record yields across both the commercial and industrial sectors. Great demand and lack of quality stock are driving this activity, and many vendors are looking to take advantage of this upswing in property prices.

YIP: Any advice for investors planning to capitalise in the area?

ST: Research the asset class and particular area you are looking to invest in thoroughly. There is a huge amount of money being spent on infrastructure in the region and with this comes new land zoning changes and potential to increase land values as a result. The savvy investor/ developer will understand all of these changes and know how to best to capitalise on these.

YIP: If the investor is just starting, how can he/she maximise the potential of the region?

ST: It would depend in which sector they are starting to invest in i.e. industrial, commercial residential development etc. However, the same rule would apply – do your research on the region and asset class you are interested in thoroughly. Start small for your first investment, to see how it performs over time, and then look to expand or divest into other sectors once you are comfortable with the area.

YIP: When is the best time to start investing in the area?

ST: In [the] Parramatta CBD, the best time to invest would be now. Commercial assets are on the rise, and we are seeing a number of assets come to the market that were being very tightly held in the past few years. There is a lot of new development happening in the CBD, which is driving growth in the city and interest from outside investors.