Why these Sydney suburbs are cheaper than 10 years ago

While Sydney’s median property value is constantly climbing to new record highs, some suburbs have defied this trend, according to new data from PropTrack.

The data reveals that the median house price of some suburbs have declined since 2015, in one case by almost $1m.

Many of the biggest falls were for apartments in high density pockets near Parramatta and Ryde.

They included the Parramatta CBD, along with nearby suburbs Rosehill and Harris Park, with units in North Rocks, Ermington and Carlingford also declining in value over the decade.

Ryde region suburbs with price falls were Meadowbank, North Ryde and Epping.

These areas had seen an elevated level of apartment construction during the 2010s which helped to moderate prices. Buyers often purchased units off the plan at inflated prices a decade ago and the market has yet to catch up.

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PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh.

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Austral and Catherine Field in the southwest topped the list of suburbs with the highest price falls since 2015, with the current median value of a house in Austral being $962,500 lower than 10 years ago.

However, economists and local agents say the median figures in areas such as Austral did not tell the full story as there has been largescale compositional change in the local housing stock due to the construction of new housing estates, which have often replaced acreages.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the median price drop in these areas was due to increased supply and smaller lots.

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A unit in this North Ryde block sold late loast year for the same price it had previous sold for in 2015.

This unit in North Ryde resold for $87,000 drop less than the price paid in 2014.

“In many growth-area suburbs home to key greenfield development zones, like Austral, Catherine Field and Denham Court, the market has shifted from large rural or semirural blocks to new masterplanned estates with smaller lots, more affordable homes, and house-and-land packages,” she said.

“This change in mix may be a factor pulling the median lower. Median sales prices reflect the middle sale in a suburb at a given time, but they don’t account for changes in the type of homes being sold.”

Ms Creagh said it was “not always an apples-to-apples comparison” when looking at the movement of a suburb’s median price.

Austral was rezoned in as part of the NSW Government’s South West Growth Area planning in 2013.

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Raine & Horne Leppington-Austral owner Bjay Paul.

Raine & Horne Leppington-Austral owner Bjay Paul said the market was much different to 10 years ago.

“When I first started I used to struggle to even convince a customer to buy a house and land worth $600,000,” he said. “These days, even something for $1 million is selling like cupcakes.”

Mr Paul said in 2015, suburbs in the southwest were less known.

“Back then, a lot of people didn’t hear about these suburbs,” he said. “A lot of people were unaware that things were happening in this area.”

According to Ms Creagh, suburbs that were once dominated by expensive acreages such as Box Hill and Oakville have seen widespread subdivision.

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Haymarket recorded the largest decline in unit prices since 2015.

This apartment on Tumbalong Boulevard, Haymarket, is listed for $820,000-840,000.

“With many more houses on smaller blocks now transacting, the typical sale price is lower than a decade ago,” she said.

“Shifts in stock like acreages being subdivided or a surge in apartment developments can pull the median lower, even if underlying home values haven’t actually fallen.”

Also among the suburbs where median prices are lower now than in 2015 were units in Haymarket and Normanhurst.

Village Property Estate Agents Senior Sales Executive at Jack Williams said developments in the last decade have placed Haymarket on the list.

“Obviously the area saw a lot of new developments come in, particularly in the early 2020s,” he said.

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Village Property sales executive Jack Williams.

“When they came, you did see quite a large amount of stock that was released into the market which obviously gave buyers more choice.”

As well as the median price, Mr Williams said interest in the area has shifted since 2015.

“We’re starting to see a lot more diversification in the pool of buyers,” he said.

According to Mr Williams, the area now gets more interest from young professionals and downsizers.

“It’s no longer a market that’s dominated by international buyers or tenants,” he said.

WHERE YOU CAN BUY A SYDNEY HOME FOR A 2015 PRICE

Source: PropTrack

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