The Sutherland Shire property market is off to a cautiously optimistic start. The first couple of months have provided further evidence that the boom is over, but strong prices are still being achieved.
The reporting on the market has been confusing with many falsely suggesting the end of the boom is the start of a crash. Such commentary confuses rather than clarifies. Whilst prices may have stopped growing, by historical standards, they are still very high.
It is worth noting that the Sydney property market is performing differently in different regions. During 2015, the whole city was experiencing price growth. Now Western Sydney is showing definite signs of weakness with prices dropping, whilst properties closer to the CBD or beaches are holding their prices.
In interpreting the many conflicting
messages pushed through the market, it is crucial to look for specifics rather than relying on broad commentary. There are markets within markets, which is often overlooked in the commentary. General commentary such as ‘Sydney real estate’ or ‘Australian house prices…’ is close to useless – it tells you something, it tells you nothing.
