Balmain is Sydney’s fastest selling suburb.

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Conditions have cooled in Sydney’s property market this year. Prices are falling and, in most suburbs, homes are taking longer to sell.

Across Greater Sydney, it took on average 52 days for a property to sell over the three months to October, double the record low of 26 days reached in 2021.

Last year, the market was intensely competitive, and buyers needed to place offers quickly to be successful. This year, competition has slowed.

Higher interest rates and living costs are constraining buyers who are acting with greater caution.

Balmain and Pymble homes are selling twice as fast as other Sydney homes. Home by Custom Mad Architects; Architect: Claire McCaughan. Picture: Richard Glover

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While the market as a whole is slowing down, some suburbs are bucking the trend.

Balmain and Pymble tied as the fastest selling suburbs over the past six months, with a median time on market of just 24 days.

Rounding out the top five were West Pymble, Lane Cove North and Breakfast Point.

Looking at the average time it takes for a property to sell provides a useful gauge of demand. Suburbs in which properties sell fast typically see a higher ratio of buyers relative to the supply of properties for sale.

Prices in Pymble have bucked the general downward trend.

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Higher buyer demand supports prices and, while many of Sydney’s fastest selling suburbs have seen declines in recent months, the magnitude of the falls have generally been smaller than the market more broadly.

For example, property prices in Greater Sydney were 6.4 per cent lower in November compared to the same time last year, according to the PropTrack Home Price Index.

In contrast, the median cost of a home in the state’s fastest selling suburb Balmain is still up 9 per cent year-on-year.

In Pymble, median prices are 13 per cent higher compared to the same time last year.

Despite the resilience shown by these suburbs, they are not immune to the headwinds impacting the market more broadly.

Pictured at their home at Breakfast Point in Sydney is Joe and Michelle Sraih with their two kids Mia and Jacob. Picture: Richard Dobson

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Interest rates are generally expected to rise further, inflation is high and, for most, real wages remain in firmly negative territory.

However, those suburbs seeing the strongest demand are likely to outperform the wider market and buyers will need to continue moving quickly to successfully secure a purchase.

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* Anne Flaherty is an Economist at PropTrack