Sydney property market makes impressive comeback with new record high

Following a bumpy ride from the pandemic, Sydney’s real estate has rebounded with a 5.7 percent increase in home values 

As reported by Domain, Sydney’s real estate market has made an astonishing recovery from its lowest point less than two years ago, with recent data unveiling home values blowing previous records out of the water.  

CoreLogic recently revealed that home values are currently at an all-time high, increasing 5.7 percent since October 2020 during a price spike that disregarded the economic recession and global pandemic. 

The new record has overshadowed the peak the city reached in July 2017.  

Eliza Owen, CoreLogic’s head of residential research, said, “there’s a few differences this time compared to the peak of 2017.” 

“We’re at a record high so it’s unchartered water but it’s also record highs in an environment where the RBA has indicated interest rates are going to stay very low for a long time – so people think these price rises will continue,” she added.  

She continued that listings dropped 16 percent this year, further intensifying competition and forcing prices up at a faster rate. 

This unstoppable growth is representative of Sydney’s reactive market, as the city has a lot of wealth and a reasonably high portion of investment, compared to slow and steady cities like Adelaide.  

The 2017 peak was trailed by nearly two years of consecutive declines and by March 2019, average home values plunged by 15.3 percent.  

More: Sydney and Melbourne no longer ranked highest for luxury properties

Early 2020 was Sydney’s thought-to-be recovery period, but the pandemic halted before any healing could happen.  

Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s executive research director, mentioned, “the recovery trend in Sydney following the minus 15.3 percent decline from July 2017 to May 2019 was interrupted by COVID-19, with housing values falling by minus 3 percent through the worst of the pandemic.”  

“The fresh record high is great news for Sydney homeowners, but highlights the challenges for non-homeowners looking to participate in the housing market as values rise faster than incomes,” Lawless concluded.