Sydney suburbs where the homes are up to $9000 cheaper than last year

Property prices may have gone through the roof in most of Sydney but home seekers in some suburbs can snap up homes for lower prices than buyers paid last year.

House prices may have gone through the roof but apartment seekers in some suburbs can snap up homes for lower prices than buyers paid last year.

CoreLogic research showed no suburb had average house price growth of less than $72,000 over the past year, but unit prices dropped by up to $9000.

The biggest drops were in regions with a high concentration of newly built apartments and a long pipeline of further projects in the works.

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They also tended to be areas where houses were much more sought after and where much of the historical demand for units was from recently arrived migrants.

This included the high-density suburb of Harris Park near Parramatta, which had a 0.3 per cent drop in median unit price over the past year.

Multiple units in this building in Olympic Park have sold for prices cheaper than last year.

Unit prices in Harris Park currently average $486,000 – about $1500 cheaper than last year.

Lakemba units were about $3000 cheaper than last year and, with a median price of $437,000, were the cheapest within 15km of the CBD.

The biggest unit price fall was in northwest suburb Epping. A typical unit in the suburb cost about $800,000 a year ago but is now about $791,000. The suburb has been a magnet for high-density developers in recent years due to recent rail infrastructure projects.

This Parramatta unit sold off the plan in 2015 for $719,000 but resold in 2021 for $640,000.

Realestate.com.au senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the Covid pandemic was driving demand for larger houses with more space and this was moderating unit prices.

“Demand has shifted out of a lot of inner city or high density areas to coastal areas,” she said, adding that buyers were often seeking lifestyle attributes like beaches over accessibility.

“Units are not as popular,” Ms Creagh said. “Price growth with units will depend on the work from home trend and if it changes.”

My Housing Market economist Andrew Wilson said the gap between apartment and houses prices was near a historic high and there was a perception from many buyers that units offered better value.

“House prices have already reached an affordability ceiling for buyers in some areas. They cannot afford them,” he said. “There aren’t the same challenges with units.”