City Beat December 2024: Sydney unit market finishes 2024 up overall, but slowdown apparent
The cooling down of Sydney's property market looks to be heading into 2025.
After a multi-year boom in both the house and unit markets across Greater Sydney, heightened interest rates throughout 2024 gave prospective home buyers a reason to sit on their hands.
The year started off positively, so the decline in markets hasn't been extensively felt. Units across Sydney, in fact, rose 1.8 percent over 2024, reaching a new median high of $859,000. Values declined by -0.3 percent in December.
CoreLogic Research Director Tim Lawless noted that the slowdown in Sydney aligns with affordability pressures and higher advertised supply levels.
He said it wasn't a surprise to see the CoreLogic National Home Value Index show a decline for the first time in two years.
“This result represents the housing market catching up with the reality of market dynamics,” Lawless said.
“Growth in housing values has been consistently weakening through the second half of the year, as affordability constraints weighed on buyer demand and advertised supply levels trended higher.”
What happened in Sydney’s off the plan apartment market in 2024?
Sydney’s off the plan apartment market saw significant activity in 2024, reflecting the shifting dynamics of the housing sector and a focus on key projects reshaping the city’s urban landscape.
It was the new development pipeline that piqued the interest of Urban readers in 2024, as well as new projects launching to the market, which have been few and far between in recent years. Data just released from the ABS showed dwellings approved in New South Wales were 42,109 over the 12 months until November 2024, 34,000 short of meeting the National Housing Accord quota for NSW.
No development application was more popular than JDH Capital's plans for the Sir Stamford Hotel in Circular Quay. JDH, fresh off completing the redevelopment of the iconic Sirius building in The Rocks, filed plans to demolish the 1988-built hotel, which will make way for a striking 150-level glass tower with commercial, retail, and luxury apartments.
The 69 apartments will be spread across 10 residential levels in the new structure. Part of the development of the 1,612 sqm site, which sits in the Macquarie Special Character area defined in the Sydney LEP 2012, will include the restoration of the heritage-listed Health Department Building that dates back to 1896.
Read more: First look exclusive: JDH Capital plot $183 million Sir Stamford Hotel redevelopment on Sydney's Macquarie Street
There was a similar level of interest in moves by builder-developer giant ALAND, who took over the Macquarie Street, Parramatta site from besieged developer Toplace,
The plans for the site include two 30-level towers with 425 apartments, along with significant communal, retail, and parking spaces.
Read more: First look exclusive: ALAND take over second Toplace site, plot two 30-level apartment towers
ALAND has also stepped in to take over the final three buildings in the besieged Castle Hill development by Toplace.
Upon completion, the Skyview development is set to house approximately 2,500 residents across 964 apartments, with 532 units dedicated to build-to-rent.
Still in Castle Hill, a market which has proven strong for several years, custom home builder turned developer Kassis Homes submitted plans for a new suburb-shaping.
Under their new development arm Reve Group, Sam Kassis and business partner Romio Georges are planning a four-tower development on a sprawling 9,074 sqm site that cost about $80 million to amalgamate.
They're seeking to develop three residential towers, with 264 apartments, and a hotel tower.
"We've been building in the area for three decades, and we're passionate about delivering high-quality residential living to Castle Hill," Sam Kassis told Urban.
Read more: Reve Group file for new four-tower development in Castle Hill
The demand for new and off the plan apartments in North Sydney has meant readers have been interested in the two new projects set to hit the market in 2025.
Earlier this year Urban revealed the plans by joint venture partners Cbus, Gallileo and Abadeen for East Walker Street 239 apartments across three buildings designed by Rothelowman.
East Walker Street will be one of two new apartment developments launching in the popular Walker Street pocket near the newly opened Sydney Metro Victoria Cross Station. Podia and its joint venture partner CASA will launch 71 apartments this year on McLaren Street, across the road from the recently completed AURA by Aqualand.
Read more: First look: Podia and CASA lodge Bates Smart plans for Walker St, North Sydney mixed-use tower
The most indemand projects for new apartments buyers have been in close proximity to the recently expanded Sydney Metro, which opened in August.
The 130 one, two and three-bedroom apartments in Elevate Hume Place, which is being developed by Third.i and Phoenix Property Investors, flew off the shelves. Over half of the apartments which are located directly above the Crows Nest Metro Station have been snapped up in a matter of months.
Elevate is the first Transit Oriented Development (TOD) to launch. The ToD is a government program which will accelarate planning, and offer different planning controls, around Sydney's extensive transport network.
Similarly strong interest was observed further along the Metro line in Castle Hill which has two metro stops, Hills Showground, and Castle Hill Metro Station.
Larool Crescent, one of the only new developments to launch to the market in Castle Hill in 2024, is just 850m from the Castle Hill Metro Station. The low-rise project has proven popular among first home buyers who are interested in the one-bed plus study at $650,000 and the two-beds at $925,000. There's also been strong demand from downsizers who are looking at the three and four-bedroom apartments and townhouses, a rarity in the
Larool Crescent is also the only off the plan apartment development on the market in the area with the sought-after Latent Defects Insurance by Resilience Insurance. The policy, which can only be taken out by the developer as opposed to the purchaser, protects owners from any structural defects in the building for 10 years post-completion of the building.
