Popular Sydney suburbs where houses are snapped up fastest

Home buyers are snapping up properties fastest in sought-after Sydney neighbourhoods such as the inner west, the northern beaches and Sutherland, as well as more affordable areas in the western suburbs.

But Sydney’s market overall is cooling and homes are taking much longer to sell compared to this time last year.

Homes in Leichhardt and Marrickville in the inner west are among the fastest to sell as of August, based on Domain data.

Houses in Leichhardt have been on the market for about 40 days as of August, and 45 for Marrickville and adjacent suburbs.

The figures are similar in Sutherland (38 days) and Warringah (41 days).

Affordable properties in the west, including St Marys, Penrith and Blacktown, spend less than 40 days on the market.

But days on the market have jumped overall in the past 12 months. The median period for homes in Sydney was 57 days as of August, compared to 49 days a year earlier.

Leichhardt houses were selling in just 28 days a year ago, and now take 40, a 42.2 per cent leap. There were significant increases in Manly (34.4 per cent) and Botany (29.7 per cent).

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said buyers were often quick to pounce on homes in trendier suburbs as they are harder to get into.

“Buyers fight to get into certain locations and may be moving quickly on particular homes and streets,” she said.

She said there would always be diversity of campaign length between regions. Prestige homes in areas such as Mosman tend to stay on the market longer.

“Generally speaking, if supply is rising, you will see days on market lengthening. Momentum is clearly slowing down because days on the market have increased over the past 12 months and that’s probably the result of a higher choice,” she said.

The figures are similar for units as buyers turn to more affordable suburbs such as Fairfield and Blacktown.

“We are certainly seeing a steer towards more affordable locations and property types,” Powell said.

The figures come as potential home buyers have been under pressure from higher interest rates, which reduce how much money they can borrow. Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock this week said 5 per cent of home borrowers were in a “particularly challenging situation” and some might need to sell their homes.

Commonwealth Bank head of economics Gareth Aird said homes are often snapped up fast in more affordable areas as they offered first-home buyers a chance to break into the market and provided families with the opportunity to upsize.

“It’s not always the case that the location correlates to how long a property sits on the market for,” he said.

Aird said properties that were not in prime locations could spend less time on the market as they were more affordable.

“For many people trying to get into the market, if they can enter at a lower price point, then that’s what they’ll do,” he said.

Sara Palmieri and her husband Darryl Hughes have listed their Newtown home with plans to embark on a road trip.

While they love the inner west suburb with its trendy cafés and community vibe, they are looking forward to travelling across Australia.

Palmieri has been keeping her eye on the market but she said it was difficult to determine with the home having so many unique features, including street art and a “doggy library” with toys for neighbourhood pets.

The couple chose an agent who lives in the suburb as they would know the market best.

“He is going to care more than any other agent and I wanted someone with a vested interest,” Palmieri said.

They have begun open home inspections. The first attracted about 21 groups.

“There’s been a few locals including one a street away who want to upsize. But there was an expat from the UK who sent his family to have a look,” Palmieri said.

Her agent, David Barndon of The Agency Eastern Suburbs, who holds the listing alongside Brad Gillespie, said the Newtown area had been attracting interest from younger groups looking to buy in.

“Over the last few months, we’ve been starting to see expats inquire about properties in preparation for their return back to Sydney,” he said.

“There’s also been an increase in the number of downsizers looking to move into the area, often with their adult children who may be looking to access universities over the next couple of years.”

SOLD - $1,945,000

105 Alice Street, Newtown NSW 2042

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Palmieri said she had enjoyed the suburb’s “golden” location.

“I feel like we’re in this golden triangle where we are just a block to trendy Enmore Road, a block to King Street with its eateries and a block to Marrickville Metro for shopping,” she said.