Sydney property market: Growth of 5.3 per cent in 2019 as prices bounce back

The Sydney property market is poised to make a strong start to the new decade after spending the second part of 2019 regaining the ground it lost in the downturn.

The Sydney market recovered in 2019 and is looking strong heading into 2020. Picture: John Appleyard

Sydney bounced back strongly in 2019 after a lacklustre 2018, recording growth of 5.3 per cent for the year, per CoreLogic data.

The Harbour City was the fastest growing capital along with Melbourne, showing particular strength over the last three months to December as dwelling values jumped by 6.2 per cent.

The median price of a property in Sydney is now just over $840,000.

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The average price of a Sydney home is just over $840,000. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Much of the recovery was spurred on by the premium markets, with the top quartile of properties in Sydney recording a 7 per cent rise in values compared with a 1.4 per cent shift across the lower quartile.

Sydney’s inner west and Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury regions were the strongest performers in NSW, both growing by 8.8 per cent.

“The positive year-end results mask what has been a year of two distinct halves – we saw capital city dwelling values fall by 3.8% over the first six months of 2019 and then rebound by 7.0% over the second half of the year,” CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said.

A combination of lower mortgage rates, a relaxation of borrowing criteria, lower advertised stock levels and improved affordability were the main reasons for the rebound, he added.

Looking towards 2020, Mr Lawless believes worsening housing affordability will slowdown activity across price sensitive segments of the market.

On top of this, stock levels are likely to rise as vendors take advantage of the price recovery and strong selling conditions.

Sydney ended the year as the fastest growing capital city. Picture: John Appleyard

“Housing values are expected to rise through 2020 across most regions, however, the year may bring about a change in the growth dynamic with larger cities seeing a slowdown in the rapid rate of growth recorded through the second half of 2019,” Mr Lawless said.

Originally published as Sydney property market: Growth of 5.3 per cent in 2019 as prices bounce back