Metro - Transforming Sydney Precincts

Some of the biggest programmatic development opportunities in Australia involve precinct transformations. For example, alongside Sydney’s Metro, Melbourne’s Health and Adelaide’s Lot 14 Technology precincts. 

In the first of our four-part series, we look at the emerging social and capital value impact of Sydney’s new Metro, in partnership with REA Group, using a unique data set.

1. Faster growth and high-density.  Suburbs along the Metro line saw population surge by 23% over the past decade, nearly twice the pace of suburbs further out.  Half of the residents in near-Metro suburbs live in apartments, double the rate of residents in suburbs further out.
2. Younger and vibrant. 45% of residents in suburbs along the Metro line stations are Gen Z and Gen Y, higher than in suburbs further out. And these near-Metro suburbs have 36 cafes and hospitality venues per 10,000 residents, much higher than the 17 per 10,000 in suburbs further away.
3. Capital values. CBRE and PropTrack estimate capital values for apartments in suburbs on the Metro line have already outperformed their peer group by 5% over the past decade. We see this outperformance increasing once the next stage opens up in 2024.
4. Shorter commute. Residents living close to the Metro re-claim an extra hour or more of their day. This will also be positive for our return to office thesis in 2024.
5. Apartment supply in the Hills District, Lower North Shore, CBD and Canterbury Bankstown region is just half of the pace of demand.  Supply does pick-up in 2027, aided by a large pipeline of developments along the North West corridor.

These are just the “initial wins” and the metrics will strengthen significantly as Stage 2 (Chatswood to City to Bankstown) and Stage 3 Parramatta links are opened.