Sydney suburbs with the highest growth since the start of interest rate rises revealed

Sydney suburbs with more affordable larger homes have emerged as “interest rate-proof”. See how your suburb fared in the face of ever-climbing interest rate rises.

Sydney suburbs with more affordable larger homes have emerged as “interest rate-proof”.

A swag of suburbs have shown resilience, recording price growth during the Reserve Bank of Australia’s last 12 interest rate rises.

Exclusive data from PropTrack reveals Sydney’s southwest and Baulkham Hills region remained a popular choice among buyers in areas such as Glenorie, Merrylands West and Leppington, while some part of the Central Coast also saw price growth.

Interest rates began to climb in April 2022, increasing from 0.1 per cent to 4.1 per cent with the next RBA decision expected on September 5.

Many suburbs across Sydney have recorded strong growth in the face of increasing interest rates. Picture: Gaye Gerard

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For units, there was a mixed bag of areas showing resilience including the inner southwest, Sutherland and a few northern suburbs.

Oatley recorded the highest unit price growth, followed by Milsons Point and Avalon Beach, while Sutherland’s Gymea and Menai also had strong growth.

PropTrack’s senior economist Angus Moore said many suburbs had “held up pretty resiliently in the face of higher interest rates”.

“There’s a lot more areas where we’ve seen prices slide in the last 16 months and there are areas where they have increased which is consistent with what we’ve seen across Sydney,” he said.

“There was a relatively substantial downturn in prices over 2022 and while we have recovered a lot of that this year we haven’t recovered all of it.

Suburbs with larger homes have remained the most resilient. This home on Jamboree Ave in Leppington sold for $1.18m in August 2023.

“A lot of these grew very quickly over the past five years … some of them have grown briskly in the last 16 months but for most of them the growth is probably slower than they had been seeing.”

Mr Moore said when it came to houses, there was a shift to areas such as southwest Sydney and the Baulkham Hills region with people wanting larger homes.

“That has favoured areas where you can find larger homes which are more affordable,” he said.

He said more exclusive suburbs such as Vaucluse and Avalon also recorded growth, however those areas were not as harshly affected by higher interest rates.

“While interest rates do matter, the sort of buyers spending $8m are certainly maybe not mortgage constraint in the way that most people are,” he said.

This large four bedroom home on Edna Ave, Merrylands West sold for $1.2m in late 2022

He said the story with units was similar from the last five years to the past 16 months.

“We haven’t seen as much of a run up in prices since the pandemic for units as we did with houses,” he said.

“Even today, with the downturn in prices we saw in 2022, prices for units are only up around 9 per cent compared to where they were pre-pandemic across Sydney whereas for houses they are up 35 per cent.”

Empty nesters Gino and Sue Debono are selling their five bedroom home at The Entrance North on the Central Coast.

“We are reluctantly going to downsize,” Mr Debono, a firefighter of 34 years, said.

Gino and Sue Debono are selling their stunning five bedroom home at The Entrance North. Picture: David Swift

“We are looking at a broad range of areas, still on the coast, from Wamberal and Forresters Beach to Norah Head.”

The couple moved from Sydney to the coast during the first lockdowns of the pandemic in 2020, opting for an affordable sea change with the home 200m from the lake and 400m from the beach.

“We fell in love with the house and the area,” Mrs Debono, a remedial massage therapist, said.

Mr Debono said he used to holiday on the coast as a child however the region had moved on from its reputation as a holiday areas to a great lifestyle change.

“The amount of people moving here is unbelievable,” he said.

The home is immaculate and just 400m from the beach, as the couple look to downsize. Picture: David Swift

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“You definitely get more for your money here. North Entrance has grown and there are so many knock down rebuilt properties.

“It’s always improving and growing, there’s lovely cafes and it’s only 20 minutes from the M1.”

The couple have noticed the lack of stock in the search for their next home, however are keen to be patient and find the perfect place where they can create more luscious gardens and still walk their kayak down to the waterfront.

LJ Hooker Bateau Bay agent Paul Witney said the market was “steady” at the moment.

“Sales for us are remaining a bit better compared to 12 months prior,” he said.

“People still see it as a good lifestyle option. Anyone selling from Sydney can get a luxury home and still have change in their pocket.”

He said growing interest rates caused “uncertainty across the market” however the past two rate pauses had seen more confidence from buyers.

“After so many rate rises, there’s a clearer understanding of where we are,” he said.