Penrith has seen stellar growth but investors only have a "small window" of time to take advantage of it, a national property mentor has warned.
According to RP Data, the Sydney suburb saw median growth of 26 per cent in the 12 months to February 2014.
By comparison, in February 2013, the median 12-month growth rate was only four per cent.
RP Data also shows an uptick in market activity, with houses spending an average of 40 days on the market, compared to 87 a year ago.
CEO of Positive Real Estate Sam Saggers, who picked the suburb for Smart Property Investment’s Fast 50 report, said the area would continue to grow but investment opportunities were drying up.
“I think there is still 12 months to go of growth, so investors will have a small window to make some equity,” he said.
“But they need to act.”
In his view, the area’s strong results were a result of its low buy-in price.
RP Data puts the median sales price for houses at $390,000, compared to the Sydney-wide median of $728,000.
“The area is affordable and that is a massive growth driver,” Mr Saggers said.
He believes supply and demand factors are also favourable for investors.
“The land releases in the area have been limited, meaning demand is still huge and supply low,” he said.
“The price owner occupiers are prepared to pay is really driving up prices.”
The best value properties for investors were older houses, although town houses also attracted high interest, Mr Saggers said.
Alternatively, investors could also take advantage of building new homes.
“If you can get your hands on some of the limited land in the area and build at the right price, it will surely grow as there are limits on the supply of new land,” he said.
