Prices of flats in Brisbane and Sydney`s Northwest Corridor were the biggest drop from their peak, according to Corelogic. In CBD North, Brisbane, the prices of apartments in Moreton Bay,Logan and Ipswich are down more than 20% from their original prices. Prices in the Hills and Hawkesbury areas of Sydney`s Northwest Corridor are 19% below last year`s peak.
While Brisbane has a "green bud" for recovery, prices are set to rise again, especially within the CBD, but there are new reserves on all sides that could push prices down again.
"although the price may be in the end, there will still be a lot of new unit stocks completed in the next few years, putting downward pressure on prices, even if the environment has improved recently," said Cameron Kusher, a senior analyst at Corelogic.
However, the prospects for the northwest of Sydney are not optimistic. "I think it will take a long time for the unit price in the area to get back to its previous peak," Mr. Kusher said. "at the peak, a flat in the, Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury area had a median price of more than nine hundred thousand, and given the distance from the city centre and the fact that the price of a separate home was not much more expensive, it was not surprising that the price of a flat in the area had fallen sharply."
Apartment developers have flocked to the northwest, where Sydney`s new subway has sprung up. The new subway is an express train up to 50 kilometers from CBD.
The Sydney boom ended last year, with apartment prices and other sector prices surging.
As for stand-alone homes, prices in Sydney`s inner city, south of the city (such as Alexandria,Waterloo and Zetland) and west of the inner city (such as Balmain) have fallen by 10% to nearly 14% since their peak in July last year.
Prices for stand-alone homes in North Sydney and north beach areas have fallen by 7% to 9%. Even the eastern region, after reaching such a high peak during the boom, has been hit hard, some by about 40% to 50%.
Prices for independent homes in the eastern region are nearly 5% lower than in July last year. Overall, however, Sydney apartment prices remain strong, largely because of their affordability, Corelogic said.
Melbourne is the strongest housing market. Since its peak in November, the worst-hit housing product has been Melbourne`s inner city, the east and south of Melbourne, where prices have fallen by 4% to 6%.
Elsewhere, prices for independent homes and flats have not fallen by more than 3%.
Overall house prices in Melbourne rose 2.2% in the year to May, while Sydney fell 4.1%.
