Falls in Sydney property prices slow over spring despite warnings of imminent rate rise

Sydney home prices have fallen for the seventh month in a row, but the drops are getting milder and were the lowest among capitals. See how prices changed in each city region

Sydney home prices have been falling at a slower rate over spring, with declines in other capitals eclipsing those in the Harbour City.

PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index released today showed property prices inched down 0.18 per cent over September, the seventh monthly drop in a row.

It was the smallest rate of monthly decline since April, before the Reserve Bank of Australia began a series of aggressive interest rate hikes.

Darwin had the biggest price falls among capitals over September at 0.37 per cent, followed by Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth at 0.29 per cent.

Auctioneer Damien Cooley brings the gavel down on a recent Alexandria auction. Picture: Julian Andrews

“Sydney had been leading falls in prices across the country, but recent falls were less significant,” said PropTrack economist Paul Ryan.

He added that upsizer and downsizer activity, coupled with investor spending, was keeping something of a floor under Sydney prices.

The median value of a Sydney home, based on sales of units, houses and townhouses, is now $962,000 – nearly 6 per cent cheaper than in February, pinpointed as the market peak.

Prices were down nearly 3.7 per cent compared to this time last year, but there was considerable variance in price movements across city regions.

Source: PropTrack.

Close to 10 per cent was shaved off northern beaches home values over the year, but prices continued to grow by up to 4 per cent in cheaper regions such as the southwest and outer west.

Mr Ryan credited this to home seekers’ reduced borrowing capacity pushing them to cheaper regions where their smaller loans would go further.

PropTrack cautioned that the slower rate of decline in prices over September was not an indication the market was beginning to bottom out, noting that public holidays had delayed some sales.

The research group said more price falls would be expected over October as interest rates climbed and more housing stock was released onto the market for sale.

Source: PropTrack.

Mr Ryan said price drops have so far been modest compared to the nearly 20 per cent reduction in buyers’ borrowing capacity since the Reserve Bank began raising rates.

He suggested the tighter lending environment would continue to impact prices later this year and next year. “Our expectation is still that prices will fall further next year,” he said.

Prices across Greater Sydney as a whole remain an average of 24 per cent higher than they were before the Covid pandemic started in early 2020.