Latest NewsWest Kicks BackSaturday, 25 February 2017

The Sydney median house price jumped from $611,000 to $625,000 in the June quarter - a rise over the three months of 2.3 per cent, or 13 per cent for the year.

Yet the quarterly price growth was mainly in our most affordable areas; prices in the exclusive city and east dropped 3.8 per cent, according to the latest data from the Fairfax-owned Australian Property Monitors.

There was no growth in the median house price in the lower north shore (0.0 per cent) and very little in the inner west (0.6 per cent). But in a reversal of fortune on last year, prices bounced back in the west (3.2 per cent), south-west (2.4 per cent) and Canterbury-Bankstown (2 per cent). Bucking the trend were increases of 5.9 per cent on the upper north shore and 3.6 per cent on the northern beaches.

An APM economist, Matt Bell, said he was not surprised at the turnaround.

''If you look at the annual figures, those more expensive suburbs had a very good year, so it's not surprising they've come off a bit after a strong 12 to 15 months,'' he said.

''The more affordable suburbs have done poorly [over the year], so it's just a bit of cyclical behaviour in the Sydney market.

''The inner-city market is a bit aligned to the stockmarket and the June quarter was a relatively poor market for the stockmarket after a strong March quarter.''

He said the return of investors looking for affordability may be influencing the June quarter data. ''We've seen the value of investment loans jump pretty strongly in the last year and because of the very high increases in the more expensive suburbs previously, investors are looking at the more affordable sectors to enter the market.''

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