If you envisage Newtown-dwellers as a bunch of dreadlocked undergraduates tangled in Tibetan prayer flags, you could be showing your age.

These days, residents are more likely to spend their days managing their super funds than calculating their Austudy allowances, as the suburb has transformed from student hangout to downsizer destination.

Michael Harris, a director at Raine & Horne Newtown, says the tide began to turn more than a decade ago.

“We probably started to see the shift around 2005,” Harris says. “Like any suburb, once an area becomes more gentrified, prices go up from there.”

While there are still some pockets of student renters, Harris says Newtown attracts fewer investors and more owner-occupiers.

The agent reports robust interest from empty nesters, young professionals and young families, with a high proportion of LGBTI buyers.

The suburb’s proximity to the CBD – only five kilometres away – is one of the biggest drawcards.

It’s within easy walking distance of the University of Sydney, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Victoria Park, and is well served by trains and buses. Victorian terraces and workers’ cottage are perennially popular.

Though some of the grungier elements have disappeared, Newtown remains one of the inner-west’s most colourful customers.

King Street offers an impressive range of restaurants, bars, shops and entertainment options, including Dendy Cinemas and the Enmore Theatre.

“King Street has got so much energy,” Harris says. “You can go there any time of the night and there will be people around.

It’s just buzzing. It’s a little bit like Oxford Street was 30 years ago. Hopefully Newtown keeps that vibe.”

Newtown has a clearance rate of 62 per cent.

Two homes in the area



Photo: Supplied Photo: Supplied

Two blocks from St Peters station near Sydney Park, this updated terrace on 202 square metres of land is an entertainer’s dream.

It features open-plan living and dining downstairs, with bi-fold doors leading to a timber deck and yard.

Viewey Real Estate have set the price guide at $1.25 million ahead of an April 14 auction.



Photo: Supplied Photo: Supplied

A quick kitchen and bathroom reno would freshen up this studio in a block of 12.

It has a space-saving vertical bed and separate kitchen with breakfast bar.

Macdonaldtown station and King Street are a few blocks away.

Priced at around $450,000, Raine & Horne Newtown will take the property to auction on April 14.