Sydney’s property market has been so strong this year that not even a 107-day lockdown could stop values rising.
The city’s median dwelling price lifted another 5.7% over the September quarter, according to CoreLogic. That means Sydney’s median dwelling is now worth 22.0% more than it was at the start of the year and 23.6% more than a year ago.
According to the Financial Review, Corelogic figures reveal an even bigger story in Darling Point. The apartment median price grew 26.6 per cent to $2,236,976, between when the pandemic began in March 2020, and the end of August 2021. This represents an average jump of $594,612 in value in less than 18 months.
Realestate.com.au has the median unit price in Darling Point sitting at a very similar record high of $2,190,000, with two-bedroom apartments selling for a median of $1,750,000.
Meanwhile, the median value of a three-bedroom Darling Point apartment has now lifted to $4,375,000. And the local suburb record was broken in October with the sale of 10 Annandale Street, Darling Point, at over $25 million.
How lockdown changed the market
As I wrote in August, the months leading up to lockdown were busy ones for our local property market, with buyers out in force and frenetic activity at auctions. The only thing missing was stock. Property listings were at all-time lows and this was creating a genuine imbalance between supply and demand, with strong competition pushing prices higher.
When lockdown hit, real estate agents were restricted in the way we could sell properties. Open homes and physical auctions were off-limits. We pivoted to holding one-on-one inspections, physical auctions were replaced with online ones, and we began using sales methods such as expressions of interest much more frequently than we usually would have.
Some would-be sellers did hold off listing their properties. Some even withdrew their properties from sale, fearing that the market may start to turn against them and making stock even more limited. But, thankfully, people’s fears didn’t eventuate.
Instead, there were still buyers in the market. Lockdown only seemed to make many people more resolute about buying a home and making a move. Many buyers were prepared to act decisively, offering strongly to take a property off the market before lockdown ended. This meant those properties that were available often sold for a premium.
We observed that sellers who had the courage to go through with their plans and list their homes for sale were usually rewarded.
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What to expect between now and the end of the year
Now, with lockdown at an end, and only 10 weeks until Christmas, the property market is entering a new phase.
This time of year is always a busy one for the property market but we expect this year may be busier still. Even though there has been a lot of activity over the past few months, we’re seeing more buyers are coming out of the woodwork, with enquiries rising since we officially emerged from lockdown on 11 October.
Anecdotally, we’ve been noticing a lot of people who’ve been working from home (sometimes in combination with homeschooling) have resolved to upsize their living quarters before the end of the year – often in an attempt to find extra space for a home office or additional living area.
At the other end of the spectrum, downsizers are becoming more active too. With property prices rising to unprecedented levels, the family home is often now worth a lot more than it was at the start of the year. Many downsizers are seizing the opportunity to sell now while the market is hot so that they can buy the next home in their property journey while freeing up capital.
More listings on the market
While we’re seeing more active buyers, we’re also seeing more properties come to market too. SQM data shows that across Sydney, the number of property listings rose close to four per cent between August and September and this month there have been noticeably more listings coming to market again.
In Darling Point, Double Bay and the harbourside Eastern Suburbs, this increased activity is happening across all market segments and quality properties from one-bedroom apartments through to grand waterside residences are hitting the market.
This should be good news for some potential sellers who have been holding off listing their own homes only because they could not find somewhere they wanted to move into. It should also help absorb some of the buyer demand that has been building in the market.
Want more?
If you’d like to know more about our local property market, or if you need help buying or selling a home, get in touch.
