Smaller, investment-grade apartments in good locations languish unsold in areas of Sydney and Melbourne – even though vendors are willing to cop a loss – because they do not suit the demands of today’s market, new data from CoreLogic shows.

In Sydney’s north-western Epping, the median unit value has slumped by 18.4 per cent from its peak in May 2017 to $797,796, and total listings jumped 24.1 per cent above the five-year average last month, indicating owners are trying to offload properties faster than people are buying them.