- 25 Oct 2024
- By API Magazine
Strong real estate sales performance is a barometer of future capital growth, and sales figures emerging from New South Wales point to sustained property price gains in parts of Sydney and some regional hotspots.
The New South Wales property market still has plenty of life in it, with its capital city suburbs and regional markets continuing to deliver solid returns.
In the case of Greater Sydney it is the apartment market that is pushing ahead. Apartment markets are considerably more positive than house markets in our most expensive capital city and the market share of attached dwellings continues to rise.
In our latest analysis, well over half of all residential sales across Greater Sydney are attached dwellings. In most of the Greater Sydney municipalities where sales activity is strong, it’s the apartment markets that are most active.
Across Greater Sydney, 45 per cent of locations with house markets have positive rankings in terms of transaction numbers compared with 67 per cent of apartment markets.
Positive sales numbers are an important indicator of future price growth, reflecting growing demand, which is generally what pushes prices up, particularly since many markets are undersupplied.
The June 2024 quarter has shown a resurgence in sales activity, particularly throughout the Greater Sydney region, while further afield the regional NSW market has experienced better performance in areas with strong unit markets.
Overall sales levels have improved, continuing a pattern of recovery over the past year, although it remains below the peak levels of 2021.
Sydney accounted for seven of the top 10 capital city regions where sales activity has taken off.
The NSW capital has seen selling activity surge right across the city and many regions have recorded a stronger-than-typical September. According to PropTrack data released Friday (25 October), there have been 46 per cent more new listings in Sydney’s Southwest than has been the case in the past five years, followed closely by Ryde and the inner south up 44 and 42 per cent, respectively.
Activity has significantly increased since last year in the eastern suburbs and northern beaches, with new listings up 29 per cent in each region, compared to the same period last year. It’s 20 and 13 per cent higher, respectively, relative to the average September over the past five years. There are also 37 per cent more new listings in Sutherland, compared to September 2023.
NSW’s regional hotspots
There are some standout growth markets based on individual Local Government Areas (LGAs), including those in the Wollongong, Newcastle and Albury regions.
The Wollongong region continues to be a state-leading star with an above-average number of locations where transaction numbers are rising.
The Shoalhaven LGA also continues to thrive, with its quarterly sales over the past 18 months rising steadily, showing one of the best patterns of growth in the nation.
Newcastle remains an outstanding market and neighbouring LGAs, including Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and the Hunter Valley municipalities with busy markets.
The Mid Coast LGA has delivered steady increases in market activity over the past year, quarter by quarter. The council region includes the coastal towns of Seal Rocks, Forster, Taree, and on to Crowdy Head north of Harrington.
While those markets are heading into overdrive, some of the high-profile regions of NSW have not yet got out of second gear.
The Central Coast still has a degree of uncertainty; Byron Bay is showing signs of recovery, after a high peak in 2021 and a deep post-boom trough in 2022 and 2023 but remains well below the 2021 boom levels; and both Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie have had patchy results over the past year, with indications of recovery in the latest quarter.
The Tweed LGA, encompassing towns such as Tweed Heads, Duranbah, Murwillumbah and Kingscliff, is showing signs of joining the boom experienced north of the border in the Gold Coast region, without yet being fully on board.
