Whilst a few suburbs have managed to defy the downward trend and post price growth over the 12-month period ending in December 2018, the slumping Sydney housing market saw several of its suburbs, like Rose Bay, record double-digit median house price decline, as revealed by the latest data from Domain Group.
Rose Bay is among the Sydney suburbs that recorded a sharp year-on-year median house price decline, the Domain House Price Report – December Quarter 2018 said. The median house price in Rose Bay for the 12-month period ending in December 2018 is at $3,375,000. That’s a decline of 17.50 percent from the year before.
The latest data from realestate.com.au, on the other hand, shows the median house price in Rose Bay at $3,600,000, based on 66 houses sold from 1 Feb 2018 to 1 Feb 2019, still higher than the NSW median of $700,000.
Penshurst was the hardest hit suburb with a year-on-year decline of 19.70 percent for a median house price of $1,060,000. Following Penshurst was Lane Cove (-18.2%), Glebe (-17.7%), Rose Bay (-17.5%), Redfern (-16.8%), Castle Hill (-16.6%), North Bondi (-16.1%), Peakhurst (-15.8%), Lindfield (-15.7%), and Forestville (-15.6%).
Over the year to December 2018, Sydney’s median house price dropped 9.9 percent to $1,062,619, its steepest decline in two decades, pushing house prices back to mid-2016 levels. In the December quarter alone, prices have fallen 3.2 percent and many regions recorded double-digit year-on-year declines, led by the South with a 14.80 percent median price decline.
Prospects for the Sydney market recovering anytime soon remain uncertain as experts are split on when the downward trend will bottom out. Contraction was triggered by reduced foreign buyer demand and more supply flooding the market, coupled with strict lending conditions and jitters over possible tax changes.
Coming from a bullish market that saw prices skyrocketing in mid-2017, the contraction in the Sydney housing market is seen as a welcome relief for first-time buyers as houses and units become more affordable. Increased affordability could help bring buyers back, but declines should remain at a slower pace to keep peak-to-trough price fall under 20 percent, experts say.