Sydney real estate: Mt Druitt has become an unlikely boom suburb

It once had the unflattering title of “Struggle Street” but western suburb Mt Druitt has become Sydney’s newest boom area and the local house prices have been skyrocketing.

The area, 45km west of the CBD, along with the surrounding Blacktown region, has been attracting a stream of cashed up buyers from other parts of the city, with many setting their sights on the larger blocks.

Buyer demand has been so strong that a recent report from research company Hotspotting tipped the region to be one of Sydney’s leading housing markets for house price growth over 2021 and the proceeding years.

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Mt Druitt was singled out as a suburb where rapid gentrification, infrastructure upgrades, a robust jobs market and strong demand from both investors and homebuyers would drive up prices.

It was also identified as “ideally situated” to benefit from the emerging Western Sydney Aerotropolis in Badgerys Creek.

Other projects like the $1.49 billion revamp of the Mt Druitt CBD and $725 million expansion of Mt Druitt Hospital would create further impetus for the market, the report said.

Hotspotting director Terry Ryder said infrastructure had a significant impact on housing markets by bringing new jobs and people to an area.

Mt Druitt prices have already been growing rapidly, with sales records revealing house values went up by an average of 8 per cent annually over the past 10 years.

“Eight per cent is right up there with the best growth in the country,” Mr Ryder said.

Despite the growth, Mt Druitt had a median house price of $683,000 – nearly half the median in regions such as the inner west, Ryde and Sutherland Shire.

The lower prices made the area more attractive during the COVID-era, Mr Ryder said.

“This is happening everywhere across the country. There is a flight to affordability because more people are working from home. Proximity to a CBD office isn’t as needed anymore,” he said.

One former resident said he barely recognised the Mt Druitt area.

Investor Eddie Dilleen grew up in Whalan, the suburb adjacent to Mt Druitt, and said it was clearly gentrifying.

“It’s getting cleaned up a lot,” he said. “It used to be extremely rough and it was a very low socio-economic area but it’s been changing over the years, especially recent years.”

Mr Dilleen, who already owns 20 properties, said he is currently on the hunt for a house with a granny flat in the area because they offer some of the best rental returns in Sydney.

This was proving more challenging than he initially anticipated because many of the properties in the area are selling before they even come to market, he said.

Cooley Auctions’ Western Sydney director Michael Garofolo said the wider Blacktown property market was going “gangbusters”.

“It’s one of the best markets at the moment,” he said. “If something stays up for sale for two weeks it’s considered a long time because most properties sell in a few days, some in just hours.”

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