Riding on an unprecedented rise in property values and booming demand, Sydney's median house price was expected to soar past its level of $445,000. Just 10 years ago it was $150,000. Based on data provided by research group Home Price Guide, the national Ray White Million Dollar Index has measured Sydney property market trends over the past 10 years. And it's not just houses that will be attracting large cheques - the million-dollar median price for Sydney units is likely to come in 2013.



"Over the last 10 years, there has been fairly consistent growth in Sydney, apart from the last two years when there has been outstanding growth," Home Price Guide head of research Louis Christopher said. The next Sydney suburbs to join traditionally affluent areas such as Mosman and Vaucluse in the million-dollar club included Collaroy (which has a median house price of $972,500), Lindfield ($962,000), Narrabeen ($950,000), Roseville ($940,000) and Cronulla ($911,000).

"They are regarded as very highly sought-after suburbs and have had very positive price growth that has been bringing them up to that $1 million mark," Mr Christopher said. Long-time Cronulla residents Marjorie and Allan Kalloway hardly care that their suburb will soon have a $1 million median house price. "It's a good area but money is not everything," Mr Kalloway, 71, said.

"These figures are impressive but we just can't see the value in them. We have nowhere to go and have everything we need here." The Kalloways paid £4000 for their small fibro home in Kirkwood Street in 1957. At the time their property had no sewerage and small "temporary" houses lined the road.

Now they are frequently told by real estate agents they are living in the best street in Cronulla and regularly receive notes in their mail from eager house-hunters wanting to buy their home. But they have no intention of selling and are happy to live near four of their five children. Ray White Group deputy chairman Sam White said that the rapidly rising house prices in these sought-after suburbs reflected Sydney's changing social landscape as people moved into different areas in search of affordable homes. "The suburbs that are about to break into the million-dollar market reflect a changing demographic in Sydney," Mr White said.

Within Sydney, 32 per cent of the most expensive suburbs were in the east, 22 per cent on the lower North Shore, 16 per cent on the Northern Beaches and 8 per cent on the upper North Shore. The south and inner west had 6 per cent each. In the year to the end of March 2003 the North Shore suburb of Mosman enjoyed the highest number of $1-million-plus house sales with 262, the report said. Second highest was Paddington (131), then Vaucluse (110), Woollahra (99), Rose Bay (80), Cremorne (78), Wahroonga (77), Killara (70), Randwick (68) and Pymble (68).

Mr Christopher said the findings did not help lessen the affordability crisis that has gripped Sydney. "Housing affordability is now at an all-time low," he said. "And in the next 10 years, don't expect it to get any easier unless there is a significant correction or change in State and Federal Government policy." Sydney housing would only become more affordable if local councils released more land for residential use, Mr Christopher said.

The Million Dollar Index, which will be produced quarterly, found that Sydney dominated the prestige house sales market, trailed by Perth, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Melbourne was expected to reach the million-dollar median house price by 2018, with units catching up by 2020. The median house price in Brisbane was expected to reach $1 million by 2031, and on the Gold Coast by 2021.

Sydney unit prices had also been rapidly increasing in many areas. The report said top suburbs for unit prices in 2002 were the Sydney CBD, Pyrmont, Manly, Mosman and Rose Bay. It also found that there had been a large increase in sales of luxury apartments in the past year. Opposition leader John Brogden yesterday challenged the State Government to support his proposed legislation to bring stamp duty relief to home buyers, producing a copy of the Stamp Duty Production Bill which he will introduce on the first day of the next session of Parliament. He said Premier Bob Carr had ridiculed and lampooned the Opposition's plan to offer stamp duty relief but had performed a backflip last Friday saying the problem would be addressed in next year's budget. Under Mr Brogden's proposed legislation, stamp duty would be cut by 5 per cent from July 1, 2004, 7.5 per cent in 2005 and 10 per cent in 2006.