Sydney’s property market is picking up overall, but the median unit price in some suburbs is lower than it was five years ago.
Buyer’s agent Rich Harvey said many neighbourhoods on the list were affected by a high supply of apartments either within the suburb or nearby, such as Harris Park, Rosehill, Merrylands and Granville. Competition for rentals was not as strong as elsewhere, he said. He backed the NSW government’s push in this month’s budget to improve housing supply and affordability.
Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, where buyers sought houses for more space, and issues over building defects had made units less attractive.“If you’ve got such critical supply shortages people will come back to higher density,” Hassan said. “The question is at what point does the aversion to living and owning higher density start to ease? It will take a while.