Sydney’s property market has been experiencing challenging times this year.
The city’s median value has fallen -9.0% since its January 2022 peak, according to CoreLogic. But, here in Darling Point, property prices remain relatively strong. Realestate.com.au data shows our suburb’s median apartment value is still 31.1% higher than 12 months ago – making ours one of Sydney’s best-performing areas.
We explore what’s happening in the market and explore Darling Point property values have held up well, despite a broader downturn.
A snapshot of the Darling Point property market
Domain provides the following snapshot of where the Darling Point apartment market currently stands, based on the past 12 months of sales. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough data on house sales to draw any conclusions.
| Property size | Median value | Clearance rate | Properties sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-bedroom | $1.26 million | 73% | 11 |
| Two-bedroom | $1.955 million | 66% | 40 |
| Three-bedroom | $4.35 million | 66% | 33 |
For me, one thing that stands out is that our local auction clearance rates are well above that of Sydney more broadly. For the week of 1 October, the Sydney-wide auction clearance rate was 56%, while Darling Point is tracking a minimum of 10% higher.
One reason for this, as the table also shows, is the low amount of stock on the market.
This lack of stock has been a defining feature of our local property market over the past few years. In fact, there are consistently half as many listings now compared with a decade ago.
Given that the laws of supply and demand set property prices, this short supply has helped keep prices high in our area even as demand across the property market has slowed.
How much have Darling Point property prices grown since the pandemic?
Domain also gives us data on the growth rates for different property types over the past few years. This presents us with some interesting insights into the local market.
| Property type | Growth 2020 | Growth 2021 | Growth 2022 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-bedroom apartment | no data | -1.5% | 16.7% | 15.2%* |
| Two-bedroom apartment | 10.6% | 1.7% | 15.5% | 27.8% |
| Three-bedroom apartment | -4.3% | 60.7% | -3.3% | 53.1% |
* Two-year growth not three.
Just researching the market?
As this shows, the value of local one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments has continued to grow this year. However, the value of three-bedroom apartments has fallen slightly.
On the other hand, three-bedroom apartments also experienced the largest gains in 2021. Three-bedroom apartments are particularly popular with downsizers, who form one of the most important buyer segments in our local market. And over the past couple of years, this buyer group has helped push values to record highs.
The relative success of one- and two bedroom apartments over 2022 could also be because we’re starting to see both investors and first-home buyers return to the market. Both buyer segments tend to be more active in this part of the market and ABS data shows that new loans to first-home buyers actually increased in August.
Is this a good time to buy and sell property in Darling Point?
It pays to remember that buyers are also usually sellers, and vice-versa. When you sell your home, you generally have to also buy somewhere to move into. That means selling in a runaway market isn’t necessarily the best thing as a buyer – rising prices when you buy can negate many of the gains you make when you sell.
Both Domain and realestate.com.au’s data show that this could be a great time to buy and sell property in Darling Point. We’re not seeing the same heat in the market that we saw early this year and last year – which means that, as a buyer, you’ll have more time to choose the perfect next home. At the same time, we’re not seeing the big price falls that some parts of Sydney have experienced. Values are relatively stable, and a lack of stock means vendors will usually sell, so long as they’re patient (average days on market for units has lengthened to range from 58 according to realestateinvestar.com.au to 70 days according to realestate.com.au) and have reasonable price expectations.
For these reasons, it’s in a market such as this one, where there is a reasonable balance between buyer and seller, that it often makes sense to make a move.
Want more?
If you’d like to know more about the Darling Point property market, or if you need help buying or selling a home, get in touch.
