Property

Published in Western Sydney Business Access | Parramatta Times | Blacktown News | www.westernpropertyguide.com.au

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? Property prices still skyrocketing

 DALLAS SHERRINGHAM

IT’S a case of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ in July with Sydney prices continuing to skyrocket in the unprecedented property boom gripping the city.

Old houses that were bought for a few thousand dollars last century in a prime location are now bringing up to $5m in parts of the Inner city.

Th e Sydney median price reached $1.3M recently, increasing 8.5% in the quarter which is the highest level since records were fi rst taken in the 1990s.

A derelict fi ve-metre-wide house with a hole in the ceiling has sold for a whopping $4.62M, becoming one of the most expensive homes for its size ever sold in Sydney.

Massive quarterly gains in the eastern suburbs, Northern Beaches, Baulkham Hills and the Hawkesbury are behind the quarterly median price rise of more than $100,000.

Th e decrepit inner-city terrace sold for an unbelievable $4.6m, surpassing its reserve by more than $500,000.

More than 100 people turned up to watch the uninhabitable house at 112 Surrey St, Darlinghurst go under the hammer.

Th e fi ve-to-six-bedroom property spans four levels with water damage throughout, rott ing fl oorboards, a fallen-in ceiling and a collapsed balcony.

But that did not stop 16 buyers registering to bid on the property, which was considered a bargain and could fetch $8m when renovated.

Over the year, Sydney house prices have jumped by 12.6%.

Domain’s Senior Research Analyst Nicola Powell said in an interview it had been a “rapid acceleration” in prices.

“It’s the fastest acceleration of house prices over a single quarter since our Domain records began in 1993,” she said.

“We’ve got double digit annual gains and that’s the steepest rise since mid-2017.

“Previously we’d seen very much the low end of the market supporting price growth ... now we’re starting to see the upper end of the market is leading.”

Dr Powell speaking to the ABC said no area of Sydney escaped the pricing boom and every region had hit record highs.

It’s a two-edge sword

Th e median house price of more than $1.3M is backed up by SQM research.

SQM research managing director Louis Christopher said it had been an “extraordinarily” strong quarter.

“It was driven by a multitude of factors, particularly government stimulus,” he said.

“From the outset of this current recovery and eff ectively, current housing boom, there’s been great demand for freestanding houses.

“People have been looking for larger properties because they’ve been working from home, and that trend is still with us.”

And the West and Hills district are benefi tt ing greatly because of the stock of free-standing homes on larger blocks.

Unit buyers aren’t much bett er off because the median price of a unit in the Sydney region has just topped $1m.

It came on the back of incredible growth earlier this year, which has meant a typical Sydney house is now about $117,000 pricier than it was at the end of February. Close to $40,000 of that increase was from May growth alone.

Sydney’s price rise was 66% higher than in Melbourne and about 36% higher than the national average.

Th ere may be a two-edged sword for struggling homebuyers. On the one hand, prices will slow down because of auctions cancelled in the lockdown, but this could be accompanied by a predicted increase in interest rates.

Th ey can also look forward to housing supply beginning to increase in many suburbs in the west and a further increase would take pressure off of buyers to bid up prices. A shortage of listings has been one of the biggest drivers of the recent price boom, according to experts.

South Strathfi eld is particularly popular with buyers because of the quality homes available in this once showpiece area of early 20th century Sydney. Th e average price is now $1.8m, which is $500,000 more than the city median.

Over the year, Sydney house prices have jumped by 12.6%.

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