Sydney's Andy Richardson considered investing in Queensland before settling on one of Newcastle's most rapidly changing suburbs.
He now happily owns a two-bedroom in Wickham, and is seriously considering buying there again.
"It's certainly an up-and-coming area," he said.
"My son goes to university in Newcastle, my wife has been travelling up there for work pre-COVID and she's seen the city change from the heavy industrial into quite an up-and-coming area.
"You've got beach culture, certainly more of a social scene up there now and it's an area we thought maybe later on in life we might actually move up there."
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Formerly an industrial hub, the Wickham and Newcastle West area has quickly become an attractive urban destination.
The light rail service introduced in 2019 connected Wickham with the CBD and Newcastle Beach, while City of Newcastle Council's Wickham master plan has paved the way for many upgrades in the area.
A number of new high-rise apartment block have gone up in the past few years, with another development of up to 200 units - Dairy Farmers Towers - set to begin construction soon.
Formerly renting in Merewether, first home buyer Abby Saunders wasn't looking to buy in Wickham, but an apartment with harbour and city views proved too hard to turn down.
It is now her home of two months.
"I was actually looking all over," Miss Saunders said.
"I was looking out at Kahibah and then I saw that one online - I didn't intend on buying, but I saw the rooftop and that had me sold.
"I've got a little puppy so I take him down for walks along the foreshore - everything's so central."
It's not just investors and young professionals moving in, either.
Helen and David Nicholls sold their Coal Point home earlier this year for an apartment that required less outdoor maintenance.
Mrs Nicholls said the close proximity of Newcastle Interchange and the light rail service had been big factors in the move.
"My husband always wanted to live in here with views of the harbour," she said.
"We could see it was going to have nice views across the harbour, and we'd had nice views of the lake so we wanted to have the same.
"We joined the yacht club when we first came here and there's a supermarket now under our building and a coffee shop opening soon, so it's very handy to everything.
"We don't have to use the car very much at all."
MARKET OVERVIEW
CoreLogic statistics paint Wickham and Newcastle West as having a relatively young and renting population.
Nearly 60 per cent in Newcastle West are renting, while a third are aged between 20 and 29 - double the number for the same age group in Newcastle.
It's a similar story in Wickham, where 55 per cent are renting and about 44 per cent are aged between 20 and 39.
Wickham's median house sale prices jumped nearly $100,000 to $705,000 in the year to July, while units rose from $574,000 to $643,000 between January and July.
PRD Inner City's Jesse Wilton believes prices will continue to rise.
"It's going to be the connecting corridor from east to west of Newcastle city," Mr Wilton said.
"Now that Newcastle city is peaking ... there's going to be exponential growth there [on the fringes] in the next five years.
"It's going to be more people, more of a buzz and the livability's going to be really strong."
Mr Wilton said the area was popular with young professionals, investors, and those looking to move from regional areas.
"I do see a drive for people in their early 20s into that 20-50 kind of gap, just due to how vibrant it's going to be - it's going to attract that crowd."
FUN FACTS
- Wickham is believed to have been named after Whickham in Newcastle, England.
- Hannell Street is the main street in Wickham, named after the suburb's first mayor James Hannell. Neighbouring Maryville is named after his wife.
FOR SALE
Mr Wilton is the marketing agent for a sub-penthouse apartment at 1304/10 Bishopsgate Street in Wickham.
It has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and stunning views of the harbour.
A guide is yet to be disclosed.
"When it sells it'll set a benchmark for the area," Mr Wilton said.
Walkom's Greg Handsaker has listed a three-bedroom apartment at 1307/11 Dangar Street with a price guide of $1.35 million.
A two-bedroom Newcastle West apartment listed by Century 21's Lily Chagorski is on he market with a guide of $495,000.
Located at 120/5 Tudor Street, it is minutes from Honeysuckle, Beaumont Street and light rail.
