Who is buying real estate in the inner city?

By David Servi

1. The sophisticated inner city residents

Inner-city residents, those people who live in inner city suburbs like Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Redfern, Chippendale and Pyrmont, like proximity. They like to be able to walk to the big shops, walk into town, wander round the corner for an exotic dinner or a good coffee.

They like the buzz and the energy. When they move, they usually move to another inner-city property – they’re unlikely to head out to far-flung suburbs to find somewhere to live.

These people know the pros and cons of life in the inner city: they might be moving because or a bigger house, or maybe because they want a bit of a change (but within a certain distance of the CBD).

Spencer & Servi real estate agents can talk the talk. With headquarters in Crown Street, Surry Hills, across the road from the Clock Hotel, Spencer & Servi real estate agents know the inner-city extremely well, and they can make suggestions and referrals that suit inner-city residents down to the ground.

2. The investors

Investors have been revelling in the sharpest and most sustained increase in inner city real estate for a long time. Every time the pundits start talking about the market levelling off, it keeps moving. When media pundits write about the market slowing, they really mean the rate of acceleration has slowed. Prices are still increasing, just not with quite the rocket-like speed of last year and earlier this year.

Investors are still buying in the inner city because they understand that proximity to the CBD helps guarantee capital growth, and finding good tenants can be easier. These investors want to deal with agents who have the facts at their fingertips, who know the answers to the crucial questions about the strength of the rental market in particular pockets of the inner city. Spencer & Servi real estate agents know the territory well, and investors appreciate their deep reserves of expertise.

3. The new buyers

Youngsters who want to get a foot on the property ladder – which is a pretty high first step up these days – are often not prepared to live too far from the lights and action.

So if they’re young and childless, they are usually happy just to be able to walk home from the restaurant, pub or club, rather than paying huge taxi or Uber fares. With some familial assistance, they might be able to afford a one-bedroom flat, or even a studio apartment, in suburbs like Redfern, Chippendale, Alexandria, or Darlinghurst

They will like the reassurance of dealing with the experienced and thoughtful Spencer & Servi real estate agents, who won’t patronise them or belittle their concerns, or try and rush them into a fast sale.

4.  The maturing couples

Those couples who have brought up their children, seen them grow into responsible adults and leave home and who now want to abandon the everyday tasks of mowing the lawn and getting into the car to go to the supermarket and tidying the garden and even, perhaps, cleaning the pool.

They want ease, convenience and – potentially – views. They head for sizable apartments in the inner-city, with elevators, where the daily tasks lessened, and where they can easily get to the city, to the new restaurants, to the theatre or a concert. Spencer & Servi real estate agents have dealt with many couples like this, and they know exactly what they want and where they can find it.