Home prices in a variety of Sydney suburbs have been pulled level – or lower – than they were a decade ago.
And plenty more areas have seen only marginal price rises of less than 5 per cent over 10 years due to a high volume of newly constructed homes easing pressure on buyers to pay more.
This is according to bombshell analysis provided exclusively to The Saturday Telegraph, revealing runaway rises in prices – while the norm in most areas – were not ubiquitous across Sydney.
The bulk of the 10-year price freezes or falls were in new development hot spots in the northwest, Parramatta region and St George area, the analysis of PropTrack data showed.
A unit in this Rosehill building recently sold for $58,000 less than the 2014 price.
Experts revealed the lack of major price growth in high-development areas was a timely reminder of why more properties urgently needed to be constructed to end Sydney’s chronic housing crisis.
“Development is needed to slow price growth. We need to replicate some of what has been going on in these markets and build more in other areas,” said PropTrack director of research Cameron Kusher.
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Properties were most frequently selling for lower than in 2014 in Sydney Olympic Park, according to the PropTrack figures.
Units in the area currently cost an average of about $685,000, lower than the $700,000 reported 10 years ago.
A unit in this Mortlake building recently sold for $30k less than the 2014 price.
Units in Parramatta suburb Rosehill were about $10,000 cheaper than a decade ago.
Prices for Box Hill houses were an incredible $1m below those recorded 10 years ago.
It’s worth noting that the Box Hill drop was largely due to composition changes in local housing stock: many of the original land plots were replaced with smaller houses.
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There was a similar trend in Austral, in Sydney’s southwest, where acreages were subdivided to make way for smaller houses, resulting in the median house price dropping $517,000 over 10 years.
For context, the median house price across Sydney as a whole has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, going from $712,750 in 2014 to the current $1.42m.
Laura Adams and Bernard Baird, with children Jax and Harlow, were finally able to secure a home amid the change in conditions. Picture: Justin Lloyd.
The median unit price increased 35 per cent over the decade, growing from $580,000 in 2014 to just under $800,000 today.
“There has been a high volume of new apartments over the last decade and the volume of stock has kept a lid on prices,” Mr Kusher said.
“Ultimately, prices rise because there is too much demand and not enough supply so when it’s the opposite it can moderate prices.”
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High profile building disasters such as the Opal Tower cracking in Sydney may have also encouraged some buyers to be more cautious with new apartment purchases, Mr Kusher added.
A unit in this building on Pacific Highway in Mount Colah sold this year for $30k less than the 2016 price.
“High density is not going to be for everyone,” he said. “The risk with delivering a high volume of housing stock is that some of it could end up being of low quality.
“High density will be appropriate in some settings, but not everywhere.
“We can see from the level of demand for houses over units that medium density is more palatable for most people.”
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It comes as research from national brokerage Mortgage Choice revealed a tide of optimism has swept the housing market.
The recent poll of prospective buyers showed 83 per cent felt optimistic about the chances of securing a home in the coming months, up from 70 per cent three months ago.
This Sydney Olympic Park unit sold in 2014 for $545,000 and again in 2024 for $530,000.
Mortgage Choice broker James Algar said there was a growing sense of Sydney becoming a buyer’s market again after years of high-pressure selling conditions.
“More buyers have been encouraged by an increase in stock and a feeling that things are back into their favour,” Mr Algar said.
“Realism has crept into sales for homeowners too. They’re realising they might not get the price they really wanted but they need to sell and take what they can get.”
Economic analyst Megan Lieu said a recent increase in NSW listings was “bringing more balance to the market”.
Mortgage Choice broker James Algar said there was a growing sense that things were improving for buyers.
Homebuyer Bernard Baird said it was a feeling he had experienced. His family recently secured a home after many years of renting and the choice of available homes was encouraging.
“There is a lot out there. I find there is a lot of supply,” he said. “There were no negative viewings, everyone was nice and they were there to help. We pretty much jumped on this one and submitted the offer straight away.”
SUBURBS WHERE PRICES HAVE FALLEN OR FROZEN SINCE 2014
| Suburb | Median price in 2014 | Median price in 2024 | Price change over 10 years | Price change in dollar terms |
| Box Hill houses* | $2,250,000 | $1,240,000 | -44.90% | -$1,010,000 |
| Austral houses* | $1,372,500 | $855,000 | -37.70% | -$517,500 |
| Denham Court houses* | $1,650,000 | $1,189,000 | -27.90% | -$461,000 |
| Catherine Field houses* | $1,100,000 | $1,057,000 | -3.90% | -$43,000 |
| Sydney Olympic Park units | $700,000 | $685,000 | -2.10% | -$15,000 |
| Rosehill units | $517,000 | $507,500 | -1.80% | -$9,500 |
| Mount Colah units | $677,500 | $677,500 | 0.00% | $0 |
| Punchbowl units | $455,000 | $460,000 | 1.10% | $5,000 |
| Mortlake units | $820,000 | $850,000 | 3.70% | $30,000 |
| Ramsgate units | $610,000 | $650,000 | 6.60% | $40,000 |
| North Rocks units | $570,000 | $618,000 | 8.40% | $48,000 |
| North Ryde units | $719,800 | $770,000 | 7.00% | $50,200 |
| Harris Park units | $419,000 | $471,500 | 12.50% | $52,500 |
| West Ryde units | $580,000 | $640,000 | 10.30% | $60,000 |
| Ryde units | $670,000 | $730,500 | 9.00% | $60,500 |
| Peakhurst units | $690,000 | $765,000 | 10.90% | $75,000 |
| Greater Sydney houses | $712,750 | $1,420,100 | 99.20% | $707,350 |
| Greater Sydney units | $580,000 | $780,000 | 34.50% | $200,000 |
* Due to composition changes in housing: larger blocks replaced with new, smaller houses
Source: Analysis of PropTrack Market Trends data
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