Beaconsfield and Zetland recorded the largest quarterly house-value drops, with respective declines of 7.2 per cent and 6.3 per cent. They were followed by Surry Hills (-6.1 per cent), Newtown (-5.8 per cent) and Camperdown (-5.7 per cent).
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The Greater Sydney median, by comparison, lifted 0.6 per cent for houses over the quarter, and fell 0.6 per cent for units.
While the steepest unit declines were recorded on the Northern Beaches – with the exception of a 5.8 per cent fall in Cremorne Point – apartment price declines were more widespread in the city and inner south, inner west and east.
Selling agent Brad Gillespie of The Agency Eastern Suburbs felt prices had come back about 5 per cent, having peaked late last year, then plateaued until three or four weeks ago, when there was a sharp shift in buyer demand.
“Buyers have got comfort in the fact that this is a new market, it has changed, and that’s a lot to do with interest rate discussions,” Mr Gillespie said. “[Buyers know] they don’t have to rush in because prices are not going up every seven days … they have time on their side now and can afford to be a bit more prudent in what they’re looking for.”
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McGrath Manly’s Tim McCullen said it had been “a real rollercoaster of a market”, with buyer demand across the lower Northern Beaches quite strong in February, before it started to dissipate last month.
While A-grade homes were still selling well, overall buyer engagement had dropped off, and homes were increasingly selling prior to auction, with interest from just one or two serious buyers now standard. Price guides on the majority of properties had also been adjusted down in recent times.
“It had to happen,” Mr Cullen said, noting buyer demand had been affected by affordability constraints, with prices in many suburbs having spiked to record levels last year. Growing talk of interest rate rises was also having an impact, and there had been a pull back in consumer confidence.
Increased supply was also a factor, but could vary greatly from suburb to suburb, he said.
Inner west buyers’ agent Hamada Alameddine, of BuyerX, said his clients had gone from having a fear of missing out, to not wanting to overpay for a home, and were becoming increasingly choosy in their property search as competition for homes eased.
Mr Alameddine said homes once drawing interest from seven to 10 buyers were now seeing two or three bidders come auction day, and noted price guides for properties had been frequently dropped over the past month, with sellers forced to lower their expectations to meet the new market.
The Sydney suburbs where property values are already falling
Source: Philippines Alive
