Why Cordeaux Heights and Wollongong CBD are telling very different property stories
Demand surges at opposite ends of the Illawarra market.
If you’re buying in the Illawarra right now, you’re likely in one of two camps - fighting for an $800,000 apartment, or planning a $1.8 million forever home.
Colliers Wollongong data shows strong demand at both ends of the spectrum.
Across the region, the market is increasingly operating at two distinct speeds.
First-home buyers and investors are crowding into the sub-$900,000 bracket, while upgraders and Sydney relocators are driving strong demand for premium lifestyle estates.
And despite the number of cranes on the skyline, supply in the most competitive price range remains tight.
Kristy Sequeira Manager, Residential Sales at Colliers Wollongong, said the firm’s annual apartment report, which tracks every active development application across the Wollongong LGA and verifies progress directly with developers, explains why.
Our last report, published in June 2025, showed around 2,500 apartments are forecast to enter the pipeline over the next five years, including 791 delivered through the affordable housing scheme. But much of that stock is already committed before completion.
The report shows 91 per cent of apartments completed last year were pre-sold prior to settlement. Almost half of the apartments due to be completed this year have also already been secured.
“There is supply coming,” Ms Sequeira said. “But a significant portion of it isn’t actually available to new buyers. It’s pre-committed.”
“Our new report to be published in June will show whether or not this trend has continued or accelerated”
That tightening availability is being felt most sharply under $900,000.
At PARQ on Flinders in Wollongong, a two-bedroom apartment launching tomorrow (Thursday, February 26) with a guide price of around $800,000 has already attracted off-market interest from both first-home buyers and investors.
Ms Sequeira said most first-home buyers are trying to stay below the $900,000 threshold, with apartments priced between $700,000 and $850,000 currently seeing consistent demand.
“The traditional three-bedroom home on a 600-square-metre block is typically above a million dollars now,” she said.
“So buyers entering the market are adjusting their expectations. They’re looking at units and townhouses instead, but they’re competing with investors for the same stock.”
Meanwhile, confidence remains strong at the upper end.
At Cordeaux Heights’ Mungurra Rise, more than 1,000 inquiries have been recorded for the estate, which is being described as the area’s ‘most exclusive cul-de-sac’.
Land starts at around $890,000, and with build costs averaging about $800,000, most completed homes are landing between $1.5 million and $1.8 million.
“We keep hearing that $1.8 million mark,” Ms Sequeira said.
“For many of those buyers, this is their second or third property. They’re selling established homes and building what they see as their forever home.”
The buyer pool includes professional couples, Sydney movers seeking relative value compared to metropolitan markets, and multi-generational families pooling equity to build larger homes with escarpment views.
Further south, the waterfront Benetti Apartments in Shell Cove, priced from approximately $1.3 million to $2.8 million, are largely attracting local downsizers rather than first-home buyers.
Ms Sequeira said interest in Benetti is largely coming from existing Shell Cove residents selling larger homes and transitioning into lower-maintenance apartments within the area.
At Mungurra Rise, further staged releases are expected in the coming months, with house-and-land packages now being prepared in partnership with builders.
Meanwhile, the PARQ on Flinders apartment is due to formally launch this week.