Western Sydney will prove to be one of the nation’s property investment hotspots next year, according to a recent report by SQM Research.

The Western Sydney Regional Report, gives Sydney’s west a score of 4.25 stars out of five, and forecasts that the area will outperform most Australian regions next year.

Western Sydney’s property prices are expected to grow by between 2.6% and 6.6% in 2012, says the report, thanks to various factors. These include:

  • Significant regional development over the last two decades – more so than the majority of surrounding regions.
  • A tight vacancy rate of significantly less than 2% over the last six years 
  • Strong population growth in comparison to broader Sydney, which is forecasted to continue
  • Strong rental yields for both houses and units in comparison to broader Sydney
  • The affordability of property compared to greater Sydney

The transformation of Auburn, Bankstown, Fairfield, the Hills Shire, Liverpool, Parramatta and Penrith into commercial districts was also a major consideration.

"We have quite a high conviction that Sydney's west is likely to outperform most regions throughout the country for the next three years. We take this position based on the view that there is an actual genuine shortage of real estate in this region, as demonstrated by supremely tight vacancy rates in comparison to other regions around the country,” said SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher.

“In addition to this, we see no signs of oversupply in terms of new dwelling construction. We also note the increase in population growth rates and the relative affordability, plus the infrastructure that is coming into the region.”