House prices in some of the most sought-after neighbourhoods in Australia have been rising as much as $20,000 a week in the months before lockdown, according to new analysis by Domain. 

The Sydney housing market has been going gangbusters this year and according to the latest Domain House Price Report, property prices in several areas of Sydney rose by more than the wages residents would have earned there during the June quarter. 

This includes locations in the eastern suburbs ($18,807 a week), North Sydney and Hornsby ($18,000), Ryde ($16,884), the northern beaches ($16,000), Sutherland ($13,211), and the city and inner south ($12,692). 

  • Canberra, which escaped the brunt of the pandemic until recently, recorded strong growth of $7138 per week 
  • Hobart apartment prices rose by $5153 per week, 
  • Property values in Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula rose $4076 per week and 
  • Darwin units added $5000 a week during the June quarter. 

Regions where prices gained the most per week

SA4 region 

Property 

June quarter 2021 price 

March quarter 2021 price 

Gain per week 

Sydney – Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury 

House 

$1,620,000 

$1,350,000 

$20,769.23 

Sydney – Eastern Suburbs 

House 

$3,507,500 

$3,263,000 

$18,807.69 

Sydney – North Sydney and Hornsby 

House 

$2,750,000 

$2,516,000 

$18,000.00 

Sydney – Ryde 

House 

$2,100,000 

$1,880,500 

$16,884.62 

Sydney – Northern Beaches 

House 

$2,600,000 

$2,392,000 

$16,000.00 

Sydney – Sutherland 

House 

$1,522,000 

$1,350,256 

$13,211.08 

Sydney – City and Inner South 

House 

$1,820,000 

$1,655,000 

$12,692.31 

Sydney – Northern Beaches 

Unit 

$1,157,500 

$1,016,500 

$10,846.15 

Sydney – Inner South West 

House 

$1,312,750 

$1,190,000 

$9,442.31 

Sydney – Eastern Suburbs 

Unit 

$1,285,000 

$1,185,000 

$7,692.31 

Sydney – Inner West 

House 

$2,100,000 

$2,000,000 

$7,692.31 

Australian Capital Territory 

House 

$898,000 

$805,200 

$7,138.46 

Sydney – South West 

House 

$900,500 

$815,000 

$6,576.92 

Illawarra 

House 

$862,000 

$790,000 

$5,538.46 

Hobart 

Unit 

$547,000 

$480,000 

$5,153.85 

Central Coast 

House 

$820,000 

$755,000 

$5,000.00 

Sydney – Blacktown 

House 

$895,000 

$830,000 

$5,000.00 

Darwin 

Unit 

$390,000 

$325,000 

$5,000.00 

Capital Region 

House 

$650,000 

$590,000 

$4,615.38 

Central Coast 

Unit 

$568,500 

$510,000 

$4,500.00 

Source: Domain House Price Report, June quarter 2021 

The markets will slow now. 

The finding mentioned above were for the June quarter. 

 Of course, currently around half of Australia’s population is in lockdown, and this situation may continue for another few months until vaccine target levels are reached, meaning our property markets will slow down. 

 In fact, Melbourne's real estate market is in hibernation as private inspections are banned at this stage of the lockdown. 

But Covid Delta is unlikely to derail our property markets in the long term according to the latest ANZ Bank research. 

Our housing markets remain in very good shape with national house prices continuing to rise strongly, even in Sydney where increasing levels of mobility restrictions have been in place since June. 

According to ANZ, ultra-low interest rates, high savings buffers and ongoing fiscal support are likely to continue to support the housing market. 

Moreover, ANZ have bumped up their 2021 forecasts a little. 

Since March the bank has been forecasting house price gains of between 15-20% across the capital cities, but our property markets have performed more strongly than they expected. 

They now forecast average capital city housing prices to rise just over 20% in 2021. 

However, ANZ expect that price gains will moderate from the hectic pace of the first half of this year, given the increased uncertainty around the outlook, slightly higher fixed mortgage rates, and the prospect of macroprudential measures. 

And then they are expecting average price gains of 7% in 2022. Still very respectable growth! 

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Kate Forbes is a National Director at Metropole Property Strategists. She has  over 20 years of investment experience in financial markets in two continents, is qualified in multiple disciplines and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

She is a regular commentator for Michael Yardney’s Property Update    

 

Read more Expert Advice from Kate here!

Disclaimer: while due care is taken, the viewpoints expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Your Investment Property.