Carlos Ovelheiro,
Sales Agent at Image Property.
There’s something special about Sippy Downs
By Carlos Ovelheiro, Image Property
It might be hard to imagine today, but it was only about three decades ago that Sippy Downs was home to cattle and not much else.
But, fast forward to 2021, and this booming Sunshine Coast suburb’s population now numbers more than 10,000 people, with its own university campus and a brand-new town centre on the way, too.
Infrastructure aplenty
Not long after it was rezoned from rural to residential, Sippy Downs welcomed the establishment of the University of Sunshine Coast with a few hundred students and staff.
Today, the university has nearly 20,000 students and staff, and is one of the highest ranking in the country for student satisfaction.
The university also now has a number of different campuses spread across southeast Queensland however, its headquarters remain at Sippy Downs.
The suburb was also designated as a “Knowledge Hub” by the Queensland Government and was master planned as Australia’s first university town with the potential for thousands of workers in knowledge-based businesses.
Development is continuing to gain momentum at the Sippy Downs Town Centre with nine separate developments set to be under construction by the end of last year.
According to the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, the combination of planned residential, commercial, and civic developments approved is helping to maximise the area.
Council says the suburb is set to become a launchpad for health and technology start-ups, incubators, entrepreneurs, accelerators, mentors and investors.
The Sippy Downs Town Centre, which is next to the University of the Sunshine Coast and Innovation Centre, includes a business and technology park and neighbouring residential area.
“When the university was established almost 25 years ago it was always envisaged that services such as accommodation, offices and retail outlets would all be within walking distance of the town centre,” Division 6 Councillor Christian Dickson says.
“Sippy Downs was designed as an education and research hub and the development of the area demonstrates council’s commitment to the area being a catalyst for attracting knowledge-based employment opportunities to the Sunshine Coast.”
Property in strong demand
Even with such a robust major infrastructure program under way on its door step, property prices in Sippy Downs remain affordable to most buyers – for now.
The median house price in Sippy Downs was about $530,000 in the September quarter last year – an increase of 2.7 per cent over the year.
Unit prices are more affordable still, with a median unit price of about $400,000.
Like many other areas on the Sunshine Coast, there is strong demand from buyers and renters to secure a property in Sippy Downs.
Stock on market levels remain constrained, which is resulting in vigorous buyer and renter activity in the suburb.
While stock levels for both sale and rent may improve over coming months, it’s unlikely to return to an equilibrium point of supply and demand anytime soon.
So, that means, with rising prices as well as a significant major infrastructure program under way – plus its very own university campus – there is no question that there are many things about Sippy Downs that tick the boxes for your next home or investment property.
