House prices dip across Sydney's city

SYDNEY'S median house price has slumped $30,000 to $580,000 after a year of sluggish sales.  
Having peaked at $610,000 just 10 months ago, figures compiled for The Sunday Telegraph by RP Data show the Sydney market has lost its shine by about five per cent.

Although prices in pockets of Sydney's west and northwest are rising steadily, the poorly performing $1.5 million-plus market dragged the overall median down.The northwest was the most popular region for people looking for a new home, with four of the top 10 suburbs with the most sales: Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Quakers Hill and Kellyville.

Despite falling prices in most areas, Real Estate Institute of NSW president Wayne Stewart said it wasn't all doom and gloom."The housing market from $400,000 to $600,000 is very strong," Mr Stewart said."Prices are going up in that sector, which means first-home buyers are out in force again especially, thanks to the stamp duty concessions that last until the end of the year."Investors are out because they love snapping up affordable properties near employment hubs and transport."
Poor sales in the upper end of the market above $1.5 million have also driven down the median over the past year."The top end of the marketplace is still being shot to pieces," Mr Stewart said.

Property analyst Louis Christopher from SQM Research said the fall was on par with forecasts earlier this year."The Sydney housing market remains largely in the doldrums," he said."That said it's not rapidly falling and we don't expect any major price drops for Sydney houses."

Seven interest rate rises, between October 2009 and November 2010, with rising house prices until mid last year contributed to the current slump, said Australian Property Monitor's senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson. But Sydney's housing market was still holding up better than all other capital cities. "That's because Sydney has a shortage of housing and people have to live somewhere," Dr Wilson said. While Blacktown topped the list of most sales of any Sydney suburb in the past year with 447 transactions, the burgeoning northwest is where most people want to live.Castle Hill in the northwest clocked 440 sales, followed by Baulkham Hills (370), Quakers Hill (334) and Kellyville (312).

The popularity of the northwest, which is out of reach for most first-home buyers, meant Sydney's urban evolution was being driven by second-home buyers upgrading to better properties, Dr Wilson said."The aspirational buyers you would expect to be looking at the inner-ring regions such as the lower north shore and inner west of Sydney are moving here," Dr Wilson said."They want that suburban lifestyle with a very different nature to what a crowded inner ring suburb offers."

Original Article:  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/property/house-prices-dip-across-sydneys-city/story-e6frezt0-1226173941557