House prices increase on Sydney demand

The Peninsula is becoming increasingly popular with Sydney home buyers paying higher prices for local homes that are still within reach of the Sydney CBD, according to a Woy Woy real estate agent.

Raine and Horne sales consultant Mr Shane Johnson said he had seen the popularity of the Peninsula grow with Sydney buyers throughout 2016.

"I predict this trend, as well as the demand for properties on the Peninsula, will continue into 2017 with the Reserve Bank more than likely to keep rates on hold for the at least the first quarter of the year," Mr Johnson said.

The local real estate market usually slows down during December as businesses and families take a festive break but Mr Johnson said there were strong sales over the three major Peninsula suburbs in December.

Woy Woy saw 14 sales, Umina 35 and Ettalong seven.

"These sales saw us close the year with some fantastic sales growth and numbers across 2016," he said.

For 2016, agents reported 336 sales in Woy Woy with the average house sale price climbing 10.5 per cent for the year to $580,000.

Unit sales prices also saw solid growth of 8.4 per cent reaching $502,000.

Umina is definitely the Peninsula's suburb of the year, seeing 496 home sales and an average sale price for houses at $605,000 up 11.1 per cent.

The average sale price for units in Umina also grew by almost 10 per cent in 2016 to $500,000.

Around 230 homes changed owners in Ettalong during 2016 with its average house price achieving the highest of the three main Peninsula town centres, sitting at $650,000 representing annual growth of 13.8 per cent.

The average sale price for units in Ettalong grew by around eight per cent to $580,000.

Media release, 5 Jan 2017

Shane Johnson, Raine and Horne Woy Woy