Sydney property boom: suburbs where an increase in listings could help cool the soaring market

Home seekers in some highly sought after suburbs can expect a break from Sydney’s booming property prices, with new research identifying where the market is cooling.

Frustrated home seekers in some of Sydney’s most sought after suburbs can expect some reprieve from the city’s booming property prices due to a coming flurry of new listings.

A Westpac report has identified the suburbs where homeowners are most likely to list and many are once tightly held areas where simply finding a house for sale has been a struggle this year.

These areas include a mix of northern beaches enclaves, north shore suburbs near highly sought after public schools and popular inner west suburbs.

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Avalon Beach was identified as the suburb where homeowners were most likely to list a house in the next six months, while north suburb St Ives was due to get the biggest bump in unit listings.

Other suburbs in the top 10 for increases in house sales were beaches suburbs Mona Vale, Newport, Palm Beach and Warriewood.

Justin and Rebecca Falzon, with kids Samuel and Eileen, are selling their Camomile St home in The Ponds via auction. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The Ponds was the only Western Sydney suburb in the top 10 for coming house sales.

The banking group’s Likelihood to List report also revealed nearly one in 10 homeowners across NSW were considering listing their home in the next year – a modest increase from last year.

There was a further uplift in NSW homeowners reporting they intended to sell in the next five years, with seller intentions up six per cent on February levels.

The bump in listings is expected to help moderate price growth considering record buyer demand and a shortage of available housing have been among the biggest drivers of rampant price increases.

Sydney’s median house price has climbed nearly 15 per cent over 2021, while unit prices are up 6.5 per cent, according to CoreLogic. This pace of growth was the fastest in more than 30 years.

Where homeowners are most likely to list (in the next 6 months). Source: Westpac. NSW real estate.

One in five of general respondents in the Westpac survey said a lack of available properties was a barrier to homeownership.

Westpac managing director of mortgages Anthony Hughes said an easing of the low supply and high buyer demand dynamic could help the market become more balanced.

“The signs are there that more supply is coming on to the market, but it’s still early days,” Mr Hughes said.

He added that the increase in buyer demand and rising property prices since the Covid-19 pandemic prompted more homeowners to think about selling.

This trend was likely to increase as the balance of supply and demand improved, with a rise in new listings expected to encourage other homeowners to list.

18 Careel Head Rd, Avalon Beach was recently listed.

Until recently, a lack of available listings was having the opposite effect – homeowners were discouraged from selling because they feared they would struggle to find a new home.

“If you’re selling to buy again, you want confidence to be able to buy the next property and not be left in limbo,” Mr Hughes said.

McGrath-Pittwater director James Baker said the coming months and spring were shaping up to have a “healthier pipeline of sales” compared to last year – especially across the northern beaches.

The region had been a particularly difficult market for buyers to crack this year, with listings down at close to the lowest levels in 10 years.

The shortage, coupled with a rise in demand from families seeking the beach lifestyle, turned the region into Sydney’s fastest growing market, with value rises eclipsing everywhere else in the city.

This unit at 737/17 Memorial Ave, St Ives, was listed this week.

“The issue we had earlier was that a lot of homeowners wanted to sell but the lack of available stock was preventing them from listing. The worry was they would get caught out if they sold,” Mr Baker said.

“What’s changed is that more (homeowners) are seeing the market cooling a bit and it’s encouraged them. There is a realisation the market may have peaked.”

Homeowners Rebecca and Justin Falzon said they had a similar realisation and decided to list their house in The Ponds with Ray White-Castle Hill agent Sara Perry to capitalise on the stronger market.

Their four-bedroom house at 7 Camomile St goes to auction July 1.

“It felt like a really good market at the moment to be selling, especially in our area,” Ms Falzon said.

Rebecca Falzon said it was easy to see why homeowners in The Ponds tended to stay put. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“The Ponds is a fantastic location, the values have really gone up and there are more families looking in the area.”

She added that not many local residents were listing their homes this year because there was little incentive to sell.

“Not much comes up because you have to increase your budget to go into surrounding areas like Castle Hill. For some, it’s better to stay put where you know you already have a good home.”