January 29, 2023
Chatswood is an internationally renowned high-end residential community on Sydney’s North Shore. It combines the modern vibrancy of a metropolis with pleasant green surroundings, making it a sought-after destination for middle- to high-income individuals seeking to purchase property.
Geographical Advantages
Chatswood boasts an excellent location as a key interchange for the T1, T9 train lines, and the Sydney Metro. The Pacific Highway (Pacific Highway) runs through it from north to south, connecting to the M2 motorway. It is only 10 kilometers from Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD), making it a highly accessible area.
Environmental and Cultural Highlights
Despite being a compact area of about 4.9 square kilometers, Chatswood features 19 parks. It is home to the most popular shopping streets and Asian dining options on the North Shore. The area includes three major shopping centers: Westfield, Chatswood Chase, and Mandarin Centre. Chatswood also boasts the cultural center, The Concourse, which has a 5,000 square meter community library, a 500-seat theater, a 1,000-seat concert hall, and multifunctional exhibition spaces.
Demographics and Housing Statistics
According to ABS data, in 2021, Chatswood had a resident population of 25,553 people, including 10,836 Chinese individuals, accounting for 42.4% of the population. The area has 11,129 private housing units.
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Recent Data from 1,000 Property Transactions
A dataset of 1,000 property transactions was collected, covering the period from February 15, 2020, to January 19, 2023. These transactions are arranged chronologically, from right to left, excluding the top 20 highest-priced transactions. The resulting distribution is shown in the chart below.
The chart below displays the ranking of properties by price, illustrating the proportion of different property types, price distribution, and the “ceiling” prices for various property categories.
Comparison Before and After the 2022 Property Market Drop
The dataset includes 239 transactions that occurred after the Reserve Bank of Australia began raising interest rates on May 4, 2022, a corresponding set of 239 property transactions from before May 4, 2022, was selected for comparison. These transactions were ranked in order of price from highest to lowest.
By overlaying the two charts together, it is possible to compare the difference in house prices between the two periods:
The charts indicate a significant impact on Chatswood’s property prices during the downturn, with notable declines across all property types. Properties priced between $1.5M and $3M experienced the largest drop, creating an unprecedented buying opportunity in the area.
Changes in capital entering the housing market
From May 4, 2022, to January 19, 2023, the total value of 239 property transactions was $382 million, compared to $449 million for the 239 transactions prior to May 4, 2022 — a decrease of 14.9% in total capital invested.
Exclusions
It should be added that there were a number of transactions in Chatswood during this period where entire apartment buildings were purchased, which are not included in this analysis, such as 5 Help Street, 5 Gordon Ave, 341 Victoria Ave and 54 Anderson St. These old apartments not only had a high number of ‘group purchases’ but also higher prices than the average transaction. Not only was the number of ‘group purchases’ high, but the prices were also higher than the average transaction. So the real money coming into the property market is much bigger. It also shows that developers are bullish on the market and are taking the opportunity to acquire properties in large numbers.
This analysis highlights the strategic importance, market dynamics and ongoing investment potential of Chatswood, NSW.
