Where to buy a Sydney home for less than in 2019: the suburbs with prices up to $170k cheaper

Home seekers can get Sydney homes for up to $170k less than the prices paid in 2019 in suburbs buyers overlooked during Covid, research shows. See where to get the best deals

Home buyers can score Sydney units for up to $174,000 less than they would have in 2019 within a range of inner city and high-density areas thanks to Covid.

The deals have come as families sought out larger homes with backyards during much of the pandemic, while demand for high-rise units dropped in many areas.

Investors, one of the primary markets for units, also shied away from apartments due to fewer international students driving down rents.

The result was a buyer’s market for units in many Sydney areas – particularly the city regions with a long pipeline of new housing projects – and prices dropped below what they were three years ago.

Monica Sotomayor , recently bought a unit in Mirvac’s Green Square because she thought it was great value. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Data from realestate.com.au showed some of the biggest price drops were within inner west suburbs Forest Lodge, Chippendale and Petersham, where the median price of units was $85,000-$95,000 lower than in 2019.

Other regions where unit prices were cheaper than three years ago included the Epping-North Ryde area, the Parramatta CBD and surrounds, and Hurstville.

There were also significant price cuts in the Liverpool region, including in Warwick Farm, where the median apartment price dropped $124,000 over the three years.

Price falls were in even larger in the inner city suburb of Haymarket, where the typical unit price is now $926,000, down nearly $174,000 from $1.1m in 2019.

My Housing Market economist Andrew Wilson said Haymarket and nearby suburbs such as Ultimo and Pyrmont were the worst impacted by border closures during the pandemic.

Prior to Covid, they had been popular with investors because of the steady stream of students needing rental homes, but demand from would-be landlords evaporated as soon as borders shut, he said.

“Oversupply” was another issue in Haymarket and many of the other Sydney markets where unit prices dropped.

“There was a boom in apartment construction for about five years and developers built too many small studio and one-bedroom apartments,” Mr Wilson said.

But he added that buyers may have a limited window to capitalise on the lower unit prices.

This Warwick Farm unit sold in 2021 for $80,000 less than the 2015 price.

The apartment market was beginning to recover and demand was picking up as more people became priced out of freestanding houses, Mr Wilson said.

“There is no more excess supply coming. It will take a few more years before there are new (buildings),” he said.

“Rents are reviving, so investors are coming back into the market, and the government has committed to kick starting migration again when this Omicron wave passes.

“We’re going to go from an environment of zero migration to a huge number and that will make a big difference … units will be a growth market given those circumstances.”

A unit in this building on Hay St in Haymarket recently changed hands for $150,000 less the 2019 price.

Mirvac general manager of residential development NSW Toby Long said the gap between unit and house prices was “significant” and this was driving up demand.

“(It’s) driving buyers to quality, well-located apartment projects where they can see real value,” he said.

“With this heightened demand we should expect that the price differential will begin to narrow particularly as international borders open and international students return.”

Home buyer Monica Sotomayor said she was drawn to the unit market because of the cheaper prices but wasn’t initially satisfied with the choice.

“A lot of the apartments were tiny … really sterile,” she said, adding that she needed extra rooms to work from home, including a room to store outfits for her clothing rental company Dress to the Nines.

“You have to look a bit longer to find quality,” Ms Sotomayor said.

This Forest Lodge unit sold for $150,000 less than the 2015 price.

This Haymarket home sold for lower than the 2015 price.

Her search eventually led her to Mirvac development Green Square, where she bought a three-bedroom unit. “There are some advantages to being in a unit. It’s nice to stay closer to everything.”