Sydney real estate: where home prices rose by $500k this year

Booming prices have forced some home seekers to spend $500k more than buyers last year. Find out how much home prices have increased in your suburb with our interactive graphic.

Larissa and Ron Lane with their kids Elke 6, Rocky 4 and Axel 2. They are selling their unit and upsizing in the area which is one of the biggest growth suburbs. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Home seekers will have to spend over $500,000 more on houses than buyers did last year in Sydney’s biggest boom suburbs.

A report detailing the suburbs with the biggest jump in prices over the past financial year showed there were nearly 40 suburbs where prices ballooned by 30 per cent or more annually.

This represented record increases in some cases since prices in many of these areas had already been among the highest in the country.

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For some perspective, Sydney property prices have typically increased by about five per cent annually over the last 20 years.

The average rate of growth for properties across the Greater Sydney area, including the Central Coast and Blue Mountains, was 15 per cent for the 2020/21 financial year, according to the CoreLogic report.

The property group’s head of research Eliza Owen said growth was not evenly spread across the city.

The fastest growing suburbs tended to offer lifestyle appeal for upsizers and downsizers, who were the dominant buyer group, she said.

“The current upswing has been led by owner occupiers, particularly ‘changeover’ buyers who may be upsizing, downsizing, or seeking a tree change or sea change,” Ms Owen said.

Many of Sydney’s biggest boom suburbs were concentrated on the upper northern beaches and Central Coast, according to CoreLogic.

No. 4 Gunyah Place, Avalon Beach sold in May for $2.31 million.

These markets have traditionally had limited buyer appeal because of their distance from the Sydney CBD but this became less of a deterrent as more people worked from home.

The top growth suburb for house prices was Clareville, a waterfront enclave on the shores of Pittwater in Sydney’s far north.

The average house price in the suburb was about $2.3 million last year but grew by nearly 50 per cent, or $1.2 million, to $3.5 million.

There was a similar increase in nearby suburbs Palm Beach and Newport, with prices ballooning by 42-44 per cent, or more than $1 million, over the space of a year.

Central Coast suburbs Davistown, Copacabana, Killcare and Killcare Heights all had house price rises of about 40 per cent. The increased ranged from $310,000-$480,000.

Outside of coastal regions, the Hills district in Sydney’s northwest was one of the top markets for house buyers.

Prices in the suburb of Glenhaven, where most of the houses are on large acreages, increased by an average of about $480,000 or 28 per cent. There were similar increases in Baulkham Hills.

No. 39 Hudson Parade in Clareville sold in 2021 for $4.27 million.

Realestate.com.au head of economic research Cameron Kusher said there was a clear trend of home buyers seeking properties that provided better work-life balance.

“There’s been a realisation during the pandemic that maybe that balance was titled to work and buyers want locations where they can spread out or be near (the coast),” Mr Kusher said.

Ron and Larissa Lane said they can relate. The Dee Why couple is currently on the hunt for a house on the northern beaches after living years with three children squeezed into a two-bedroom unit.

“We bought it when it was just us and then we had three kids in six years … the kids are busting out of the bunks and cots,” Mr Lane said.

The young family are looking for a home. Picture: Tim Hunter.

They’ve listed their apartment at 105 Howard Ave for sale and are looking for a spacey house. “It’s difficult because the prices have gone up so much,” Mr Lane said. “Everything is over $2 million.”

Local agent Mark Thomas of McGrath-Manly said the biggest issue for buyers in the area was a lack of stock.

“The biggest spenders are actually people who have missed out on 10 or 11 houses and they’ll pay anything just to end their search,” Mr Thomas said. “There are also a lot of buyers who have come off big sales and they have a lot to spend on their next house.”

No. 32 Timbarra Road in St Ives recently sold for $2.2 million.

Stone Real Estate agent Eddy Piddington said the beaches boom was from “everyone” wanting to come to the area but nobody leaving. “Why would you move?” he said. “It’s got the best beaches, great walks, cafes, there’s more space. It’s got a bit of everything.”

Manly Vale resident Emilie Seris recently upgraded to a large house in the area and said finding a home was “highly stressful”.

“We got a buyer’s agent in the end, it made it a lot easier,” she said, adding that one consolation was they were now selling their previous home on Lovett St in the same market.

“During Covid, where would you rather be? By the beach or inland? I think most would say the beach,” Ms Seris said. “We’re hoping that helps (our sale).”

Originally published as Sydney real estate: where home prices rose by $500k this year