It's common knowledge that the price of houses for sale in Sydney are skyrocketing, and so are apartment values. But what about the rest of New South Wales? Is there are a widespread gain that is setting this state apart, or is it just the capital?
Real estate in Sydney
The going rate of homes for sale in Sydney is fast outstripping the rest of the nation's capital cities, and even Melbourne is being left behind. According to SQM Research's figures as of 26 May, the median price of a house in the NSW capital is $1,084,400, while a unit would fetch $614,400. This would makea middle-of-the-road apartment in the Harbour City more expensive than a freestanding house in Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide or Hobart. Melbourne's median house price of $660,600 is not much more expensive than a unit in Sydney.
If you're looking at rental properties, you can lease a house in Melbourne for $476 a week - just less than the cost of an apartments' weekly rent in Sydney at $478.70 according to SQM Research's data.
Statewide
Well, if you're anywhere else in NSW, you might not be far off some of the prices that Sydney properties fetch. In fact, homes for sale the state are picked to break the $1million median-price mark later this year, according to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW). As much as those looking to sell their house or refinance their home loan might look forward to such a prospect, REINSW president Malcolm Gunning says this is not a desirable pace for property prices to grow at.
"Home ownership matters. How do we expect to keep our best and brightest? Our nurses, firefighters, policemen and teachers?," said Mr Gunning on 14 May.
"It is time for the NSW Government to provide a solution in the form of the removal of property taxes. It is also important to free up our planning system to help with supply issues that are acting to drive prices up."
Regional values on the rise
It's seems like prices are going nowhere but up, no matter where you look in NSW. CoreLogic RP Data's regional analysis shows that Newcastle and Lake Macquarie are riding the property boom almost as much as Sydney itself. Houses for sale in the region have gone up 7.4 per cent over the year to March, while units increased in value by 6.6 per cent. Part of this could be due to supply issues, as sales volumes were down for the year to February by 2.8 per cent.
Illawarra is one of those rare regions in the country were units have appreciated more than houses over the past year. At the end of March, apartments and the like had increased in asking price by 9.6 per cent while houses grew 0.3 per cent less over the same 12-month period.
Richmond-Tweed has also been bustling, with current activity 22 per cent higher than the five-year average. Again, units have seen a surge in demand, with a 4.5 per cent increase in value, while freestanding homes appreciated by 3.6 per cent.
To put these figures in perspective, the national average increase in median price over the year to 26 May - according to SQM Research - is as low as two per cent for houses. For units it's only 0.4 per cent. The capital city average, skewed largely by Sydney, sits at 5.9 per cent for houses and 6.3 per cent for units. The affect of the NSW capital is such that no other city is above the combined capitals average.
