The number of properties that have sold for $1 million or more in the Illawarra has likely decreased, but there may be signs of market improvement ahead.
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CoreLogic's head of research Cameron Kusher said over the 12 months to June 2019, 12.5 per cent of all houses and eight per cent of units sold nationally transacted for at least $1 million.
The share of million-dollar house sales nationally was down from 14.7 per cent a year earlier.
For units, the eight per cent share over the past year was lower than the 9.4 per cent a year earlier.
"The fall in million-dollar sales over the past year reflects the overall weaker housing market conditions and the fact that higher valued properties have typically recorded the greatest value falls," Mr Kusher said.
Mr Kusher said far fewer properties sell for at least $1 million in regional markets as opposed to capital cities.
He said while they didn't have specific figures for the Illawarra in this instance, he suggested the trend in the region would be similar to that of Sydney.
"We haven't yet seen in the monthly and quarterly data for the Illawarra the improvement that's evident in Sydney," he said.
"But markets like the Illawarra do take their lead from Sydney, so I wouldn't be surprised if in 12 months' time that we start to see evidence that the trend in terms of fewer million-dollar sales is starting to reverse."
Mr Kusher said overall, the falls in the market have been much higher at the top end.
"But now what we're seeing is people's borrowing capacity has increased because some of the lending restrictions have eased, and that's a good opportunity for people looking to upgrade in the market," he said.
"The value of their property may have fallen a little, but the property they're upgrading into, the more expensive properties have generally fallen by a greater amount.
"So now they can borrow more, they might be inclined to upgrade into better, more expensive properties.
"Particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, we are seeing that while the top end of the market has seen the biggest falls, it's starting to show some of the better improvements over the past couple of months.
"I'd expect that to be replicated in a market like the Illawarra as well."
Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
