Call it suburban “long Covid” –– many of Sydney’s most popular suburbs before the pandemic are suffering from a chronic, post-pandemic slump in housing values that’s refused to go away.

These pockets are still feeling the economic shocks of Covid and the 13 interest rate hikes from 2022-23 which have seen property values going backwards, flatlining or barely budging.

Price declines have been especially pronounced in high-density areas that were once magnets for investors — particularly those catering to international students and short-term renters.

Data from PropTrack reveals that units in the inner city, the lower North Shore and beyond are cheaper now than they were in 2020.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore said Sydney’s unit growth since then has been sluggish in comparison to other capital markets.

“Since the pandemic began, unit prices in Sydney are up 22 per cent; far slower than over 80 per cent in Adelaide, or nearly 95 per cent in Brisbane,” he said.

“This is partly due to people moving to the smaller capitals during Covid and partly due to their relative affordability.

“Though that is not as true today as it was five years ago, given how far prices in the smaller capitals have risen.”

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Mr Moore said Sydney’s apartment struggles reflected a change in buyer preferences that began during Covid.

“People wanted more space to be able to work from home and were less concerned about commuting,” he said.

“This favoured larger detached houses over apartments.”

The cost and duration of building units has been a factor in the restrained overall growth of units.

“The cost of building increased rapidly during Covid, the time it takes to build homes has increased, and labour has been a constraint,” Mr Moore said.

According to ABS data, prices received by building construction businesses have increased 31.1 per cent from the September quarter of 2020 to the June quarter of 2024.

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The suburb with the biggest decline in unit prices since Covid — with at least 50 properties sold in the last 12 months –– was Eastwood, with a drop of 18.4 per cent.

Units in the nearby suburbs of Epping and Gordon have also felt the post-Covid drop.

Raine & Horne Lower North Shore sales agent Andrew Bowden said the price of units in the area were “still fluctuating”.

“Premium, highly sought-after properties are achieving the highest price levels they have seen, whereas others are still sitting at pricing levels seen around the market peak of 2021.”

Mr Bowden said the struggle of some lower North Shore units was also in part due to their presentation.

“Well-presented apartments in premium Lower North Shore pockets are performing well, whereas buyers are showing more patience with less desirable options, choosing to hold out for properties to meet more of their requirements,” he said.

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Further into the city, units in Haymarket, Darlinghurst, Ultimo and Sydney all experienced five-year price declines.

A unit at 88 Hay Street, Haymarket sold for $875,000 in April 2025, despite previously selling for $878,000 in April 2020.

Village Property sales executive Jack Williams said the Covid period was “definitely challenging” for the area, as people dealt with transitioning to a new way of living and working.

Mr Williams said a key factor of the long-Covid effects on the market were new developments being opened in the early 2020s.

“When a new development goes up it does provide more choice which generally does plateau prices for a period,” he said.

“We’re seeing now there’s very limited new developments because construction costs have gone up so much.”

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He added that it wasn’t all doom and gloom, with the long-term potential for units in these areas improving as more people returned towards high density living.

“Rental demand is strong, yields are strong — I think it’s got some solid long-term prospects,” he said.

Mr Moore said the effects of Covid on Sydney’s high-density suburbs were “starting to ease”.

“In particular, we’re not seeing rapid escalation in the cost of building,” he said.

“However, building costs haven’t come down and therefore remain a lot more expensive than pre-pandemic.”

SYDNEY SUBURBS BY MEDIAN PRICE DECLINE (Units; Min 50 property sales in 12 months to June 2025)

Source: PropTrack

The post Sydney suburbs where units still reeling from pandemic appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Time is on the side of people who bought homes in Geelong in the first year of the Covid pandemic, new data reveals.

New PropTrack research reveals people who bought homes in the 12 months to July 2020 are sitting pretty on potential five-year value gains of between 10 and 100 per cent.

Only one Geelong suburb shows a price fall over that time, a 3.3 per cent decline for Geelong West units.

The growth figures underline how dramatic the restrictions on the movement of people in Melbourne were on regional property prices during the pandemic, as thousands sought to leave the lockdown capital.

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Dan Andrews’ ring of steel locked in the unprecedented boom in home prices as waves of Melbourne people – many buying sight-unseen – accelerated demand for property.

It wasn’t to last though, with Geelong now coming out of a two-year downturn as the market absorbed the abnormal growth.

The data reveals Rippleside as the standout suburb, with a 104 per cent median price gain over five years (worth $850,000) skewed by the waterfront Balmoral Quay development.

A renovation boom made its mark at inner-west Manifold Heights, where the median house price has jumped nearly 60 per cent to $1.175m.

But next-ring suburbs stood up best during the downturn.

Whittington, St Albans Park, Bell Post Hill, Herne Hill and Corio houses banked median price growth between 30 and 40 per cent over five years, with inner-city South Geelong and outer suburban Lovely Banks and Marshall rounding out the city’s 10 best-performing suburbs.

Geelong buyers advocate Tony Slack said the strength of the growth over five years demonstrated the owning property for value gain was still a long-term proposition.

“You always should be looking at least five to seven years because of that cycle. That’s just natural growth – plateau – growth – plateau. You need time in the market,” he said.

Mr Slack said the pandemic boom was unique as it was driven predominantly by owner occupiers, with the negative result for Geelong West units put down to an oversupply and fewer investment buyers.

Gartland Geelong agent Will Ainsworth said new development and renovations contributed significantly to the growth, especially in smaller suburbs such as Rippleside and Manifold Heights, but rising prices for inner suburbs also pushed demand further from the CBD.

“Eight to 10 years ago it would have been the suburbs closer to the CBD than those (that had the best growth),” he said.

“You’ve got East Geelong or Newcomb, and now you’ve got Whittington and St Albans Park. “It’s that next or third suburb from the CBD that became the affordable one, because that second one had taken off and become a bit less affordable,” he said.

“There’s equity in two ways – improving the value in a renovation or waiting for the market to increase, or doing both.

“One of them is probably going to work, two of them are going to work better.”

Geelong’s best growth in five years: houses

Mr Ainsworth said buyers had become more sensible again, but there were still tricky conversations with vendors who bought at the height of the boom.

“If they bought for $1m, now it might be worth $950,000. The owners might want $1.05m to get their money back. You’ve got a $100,000 or 10 per cent differential that you can’t bring that together – that’s too big a price gap.”

Hayeswinckle, East Geelong director Tiffany Simpson said returning confidence and interstate investors were improving values in areas like St Albans Park, where bigger properties offer better bang for buck.

“In almost the first six months of 2025 in St Albans Park we are up 10 per cent up on where we were last year – that’s due to investors coming back in to the market,” she said.

“A lot of first-time buyers are able to stretch past $600,000, given a couple of interest rate cuts.

“The confidence has definitely returned and they feel more relaxed to able be able to fully use their borrowing potential.”

Geelong’s best growth in five years: units

McGrath, Geelong agent Jasmin Jurkovic said values in suburbs such as Bell Post Hill had responded as neighbouring areas heated up.

“The demographics are changing – it was a very ageing population with 80-plus year old migrants that came here 55 years ago and the built their dream home,” Ms Jurkovic said.

“The younger generation has gravitated here and appreciated the value they’ve got for families with land size, affordability for a good, solid brick home and all the conveniences.”

Corio is the most-popular suburb in the top 10, where 291 houses sold in 12 months.

The median house price has jumped from $365,000 in 2020 to $490,000.

“I became all about the bigger blocks and affordability and people were landbanking and going, ‘well, it’s an hour to Melbourne, first-time buyers will gravitate here if we build units’,” she said.

“There’s a lot of construction and building taking place and the yield was good because when you were buying something for $350,000, and the rent was about $300 to $280.”

The post The Geelong suburbs where home prices soared since Covid appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Five Senate Democrats are raising concerns about the potential risks of using unconverted cryptocurrency assets in mortgage underwriting, urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to tread carefully.

In a letter addressed to FHFA Director Bill Pulte, the senators reacted to his social media post from late June, in which Pulte said the agency is studying the matter.

He then directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to “consider only cryptocurrency assets that can be evidenced and stored on a U.S.-regulated centralized exchange subject to all applicable laws.” Cryptocurrencies under consideration would not need to be converted to U.S. dollars, Pulte said.

The signatories on this week’s letter include include Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“Expanding underwriting criteria to include the consideration of unconverted cryptocurrency assets could pose risks to the stability of the housing market and the financial system,” the lawmakers wrote.

Proponents of crypto-backed mortgages argue that digital assets could expand access to credit for borrowers who struggle to qualify based on traditional income or credit metrics. But critics warn of the risks tied to the volatility of crypto assets, especially in scenarios where rapid price declines trigger margin calls — forcing borrowers to post additional collateral.

“To the extent that historical volatility and liquidity persists even as the market matures, a borrower using crypto faces an increased risk that they may not be able to exit a crypto position and convert to cash at a price that would allow them to buffer against risk of mortgage default,” the senators wrote.

They also emphasized the security concerns. Crypto is subject to risks of “loss due to scams, cyber hacks, or physical theft, which could leave homeowners vulnerable to losing their crypto assets with little hope of recovery,” the lawmakers added.

Companies that currently offer crypto-backed mortgages include Miami-based Milo and Toronto-based lending platform Ledn. There is also Figure, led by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, and Moon Mortgage.

The senators also raised ethical and governance concerns, pointing to a potential conflict of interest between Pulte’s role as FHFA director and his position as chair of the boards of Fannie and Freddie.

“While the legality of your appointment as Chair of the Boards is still in question, there also appears to be a serious conflict between your ability to order and approve the Enterprises’ proposals as FHFA Director and to ultimately influence the development of such proposals as Chair of the Enterprises’ boards,” the letter stated.

The Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota, has become the first in the country to create a fully vertically integrated “seed-to-wall” program using industrial hemp — addressing a critical shortage of affordable housing on its reservation.

Prompted by U.S. Census Bureau data indicating the need for 200 new homes by 2030, the Lower Sioux Housing Authority turned to an innovative and eco-conscious solution known as hempcrete.

The plant-based building material — a mix of hemp hurd, lime and water — is non-toxic, mold-resistant, biodegradable and highly energy efficient.

Over the past two years, a small team of four tribal members has built homes using hempcrete — laying the foundation for a program that not only provides shelter but could spark housing affordability initiatives in indigenous and underserved communities nationwide.

Community-driven vision

“I guess we started growing hemp in 2016, and there was always an end goal to build homes using hemp,” said Danny Desjarlais, industrial hemp construction project manager for the Lower Sioux Indian Community. “Everything has been a long time in the making here, and a lot of people have put the work in to make it happen.”

That process culminated in June 2023 when construction began on the first hempcrete home.

“We’re not building these big, elaborate, fancy houses for rich people,” Desjarlais said. “We’ve just been making low-budget homes with with way better material. It’s going to last way longer, and it’s way healthier for the people living in them.”

Recognized innovation

The initiative recently earned national recognition as a finalist for the 2025 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability.

The award, sponsored by Ivory Innovations — a nonprofit housed at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business — honors pioneering approaches to solving the housing crisis.

“Danny has brought a lot of elements together that have helped make this project successful,” said Clark Ivory, CEO of Ivory Innovations and Utah homebuilder Ivory Homes. “I like that he’s targeting affordable, workforces homes and giving people jobs. There’s some limitations right now with scalability, but I’m excited to see what they can do.

“I know they’ve been looking at the Minneapolis market. It will be so cool to see them implement this model outside the reservation and see how it all works.”

Lower Sioux’s approach stands out not only for its environmental merits but also for its replicability.

“We’re just four guys here doing it,” Desjarlais said. “I think we just need to get the word out there more and get more communities doing this to really make it more impactful.”

Real affordability — not just a buzzword

Desjarlais emphasized that the term “affordable housing” often rings hollow.

“Is affordable housing even affordable?” he asked. “Most of the affordable housing I’ve seen, these people can’t even afford to live in it, because it’s poorly insulated. They’re going to (need to choose between buying) groceries, or they’re going to pay their heating bill.”

In contrast, hempcrete homes built in the Lower Sioux Community reportedly offer up to 70% energy savings — potentially cutting heating costs by $4,000 to $5,000 annually.

In one extreme case last winter, a hempcrete house maintained 59 degrees indoors overnight despite subzero temperatures — and without a working furnace.

“We only had this solar furnace where it only attracted the heat during the daytime, and the hemp held that heat in all night long,” Desjarlais said.

Beyond economics, Desjarlais highlighted the health benefits of natural materials like hemp, contrasting them with traditional construction filled with plastics.

“Everything you’d pull out of a hempcrete home, you can either grind it up and put it into your next hempcrete mixes, or put it right into the soil,” he said. “It’s actually good for the soil.”

One of the group’s hempcrete projects involved renovating the oldest home on the reservation. Instead of demolishing the structure, the crew replaced interior walls with hempcrete — preserving the building while dramatically improving its longevity and health profile.

Desjarlais posed a crucial question to fellow tribal and non-tribal communities:

“Are we going to just build the same way that we did already, and then hand this problem down to our kids in 30 or 40 years? Or are we going to try and build homes that will last for generations to come?” he said.

Overcoming regulatory barriers

The team’s tribal sovereignty allowed them to bypass state building codes. But outside of reservation land, other builders faced red tape.

That’s changing. This month, Minnesota became the first state in the U.S. to adopt hempcrete into its building code — an effort Desjarlais helped lead.

“This is going to open the doors here in the state of Minnesota for us and anybody else that wants to build with with hempcrete off of the reservation,” he said. “Then it’s also going to open it for other states to start doing the same thing and just following suit with what we did. I’ve already started reaching out to all of the other states around here.”

Desjarlais also serves as a regional leader for the U.S. Hemp Building Association.

“My region is Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska,” he said. “I’ve been reaching out to all of the builders in those states and finding out who their building officials are and trying to get them to push it through at their state levels as well.”

Ivory said he hopes the recent action in Minnesota, as well as similar measures designed to ease the path to affordable housing construction, carry over to more states.

“The U.S. has got to simplify the way we get everything approved,” he said. “You know, our building codes are fairly complicated and vary tremendously from municipality to municipality, not just state to state, and that makes it a little bit complicated.

“I love what (Desjarlais) is doing. I think it’s very it’s a sustainable product, and that we can grow (hemp) and replace it — and just keep doing it again and again and again every year.”