While housing prices in most capital cities have declined a little since May, the rising equity market meant household wealth remained largely unchanged, despite the deep recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Figures released by CoreLogic have shown that Sydney has fallen by 0.8 per cent, while nationally, capitals have fallen by just 0.7 per cent throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

While the Reserve Bank noted in its latest meeting that conditions in the established housing market “remained mixed”, pointing to recent falls in dwelling values across Australia’s capital cities.

“Housing prices in some larger cities had declined in June, though we’re only a little below recent peaks in the case of Sydney and Melbourne,” the RBA noted.

“Housing prices in a number of smaller cities were broadly unchanged.” REA chief economist Nerida Conisbee said suburbs with prices over $1 million have remained stable during the coronavirus pandemic due to the strong momentum of the past year.

Fifteen suburbs across Sydney have crossed the $1 million median price barrier for the first time.

The suburbs, located predominantly in Hornsby Shire, The Hills and Sutherland Shire, saw their median house price surge in the 12 months to June, thanks to record-low interest rates fuelling the market.

Realestate.com.au data showed Bexley in the city’s south had the strongest growth of the new entrants, with prices growing $266,000 to $1.251 million. Neighbouring Bayside suburb Arncliffe also surpassed $1 million. However, Sydney’s property market is going backwards for the first time since early 2019, with new data revealing house prices have fallen 2 per cent over the past three months. Northmead was the sole Parramatta suburb to break $1 million, with the median house price now $1.01 million. Jannali, Menai and Yarrawarrah from Sutherland Shire along with Belmore and Picnic Point from the Canterbury-Bankstown area also saw house values surpass $1 million.

Yesterday, the NSW Government announced updates to stamp duty thresholds which is set to boost first home buyer activity and housing construction across NSW -  all part of the Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan.

Wonder how much stamp duty you'll pay on a property?

Property price can fluctuate with impact of Bushfire in any given area.

NSW Government has developed a brand new package to help and improve affordability of housing.

The Federal Government has unveiled its HomeBuilder package,home owners to apply for a tax-free grant of $25,000 if they are spending between $150,000 and $750,000 renovating a home or building a new home — but the eligibility criteria are reasonably tight.

Details have been released on how the government is assisting first home buyers to purchase their first property.