Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Sydney
This article is updated regularly so the data you see here always reflects current market conditions.
Apartment prices in Sydney in 2026 vary enormously depending on the neighborhood, from around A$390,000 to get started in Marrickville all the way to nearly A$1 million just for a studio in Darling Point.
Whether you are a first-home buyer trying to find the most affordable entry point or someone looking to understand the full price spectrum across Sydney's apartment market, this guide breaks it all down clearly.
And if you're planning to buy a property in Sydney, you may want to download our real estate pack about Sydney.
A quick summary table
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Most expensive Sydney neighborhood for apartments | Darling Point (A$30,100 per sqm) |
| Most affordable Sydney neighborhood for apartments | Marrickville (A$12,361 per sqm) |
| Average price per square meter across all Sydney neighborhoods | A$18,374 per sqm |
| Median apartment price across Sydney neighborhoods | A$1,290,000 |
| Lowest realistic starting budget to buy a Sydney apartment | A$390,000 (Marrickville) |
| Most expensive Sydney apartment type by bedroom count | Two-bedroom apartments (highest absolute prices) |
| Most affordable Sydney apartment type by bedroom count | Studio apartments |
| Average price for a studio apartment in Sydney | A$642,000 (across all 12 neighborhoods) |
| Average price for a one-bedroom apartment in Sydney | A$1,008,000 (across all 12 neighborhoods) |
| Average price for a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney | A$1,558,000 (across all 12 neighborhoods) |
| Price gap between the most and least expensive Sydney neighborhoods | A$17,739 per sqm (Darling Point vs. Marrickville) |
| Price spread across the 12 Sydney apartment neighborhoods | Darling Point costs about 2.4 times more per sqm than Marrickville |
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Sydney apartment neighborhoods in 2026 ranked by purchase price
This table ranks 12 Sydney neighborhoods by apartment purchase price, from the most expensive to the most affordable.
For each neighborhood, the table includes the average price per square meter, the median property price, the starting budget, the average price for a studio apartment, a one-bedroom apartment, and a two-bedroom apartment, the typical buyer profile, the key advantages, the key drawbacks, and the market segment.
Finally, please note you'll find much more detailed data in our real estate pack about Sydney.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Average Price per Square Meter | Median Property Price | Starting Budget | Average Price for a Studio Apartment | Average Price for a One-Bedroom Apartment | Average Price for a Two-Bedroom Apartment | Typical Buyers | Key Pros | Key Cons | Market Segment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darling Point | A$30,100 | A$2,600,000 | A$950,000 | A$1,053,000 | A$1,656,000 | A$2,558,000 | Harbour-view downsizers and prestige buyers | Blue-chip harbour setting, very scarce apartment stock, ferry access, and prestige buildings that hold their value well | Entry prices are steep, stock is tightly held, and strata fees in prestige blocks can be high | Luxury |
| 2 | Milsons Point | A$25,967 | A$2,420,000 | A$840,000 | A$909,000 | A$1,428,000 | A$2,207,000 | Executive buyers seeking harbour views and station access | Opera House and Harbour Bridge views, train station on the doorstep, and luxury towers that offer rare live-work convenience | Premium towers can carry high strata costs and the business-district surroundings feel less neighborhood-like | Luxury |
| 3 | Manly | A$23,388 | A$1,800,000 | A$760,000 | A$819,000 | A$1,286,000 | A$1,988,000 | Lifestyle-focused buyers willing to pay a beach and ferry premium | Beach and ferry lifestyle that is unusually strong, with broad apartment demand across many building styles | Buyers pay a clear lifestyle premium, and summer congestion plus tourist activity can wear on residents over time | Premium |
| 4 | Bondi Beach | A$19,076 | A$1,510,000 | A$610,000 | A$668,000 | A$1,049,000 | A$1,621,000 | Beach lifestyle professionals and eastern suburbs buyers | Sydney's most famous beach address keeps resale demand consistently strong for well-located apartments | Heavy buyer competition, visitor pressure, and limited parking reduce day-to-day convenience | Premium |
| 5 | Bondi | A$17,501 | A$1,450,000 | A$560,000 | A$613,000 | A$963,000 | A$1,488,000 | Upgrading eastern suburbs locals and lifestyle buyers | Strong cafe-strip appeal and easy access to Bondi Junction make it both practical and desirable | Still expensive, and some stock sits on busy roads away from the classic beachside feel | Premium |
| 6 | Pyrmont | A$16,319 | A$1,130,000 | A$500,000 | A$571,000 | A$897,000 | A$1,387,000 | CBD-adjacent professionals seeking walkable city living | Walkable distance to the CBD, Darling Harbour, and light rail gives real everyday convenience for apartment owners | Some older complexes carry higher strata or remediation risks, and street quality varies noticeably across the suburb | Mid-Market |
| 7 | North Sydney | A$15,896 | A$1,280,000 | A$500,000 | A$556,000 | A$874,000 | A$1,351,000 | Commuter professionals and buyers attracted to newer towers | Fast rail links, close proximity to city offices, and new premium towers that are widening apartment buyer demand | Weekday business-district feel can make weekends quieter, and premium new stock pushes prices up quickly | Premium |
| 8 | Sydney CBD | A$15,821 | A$1,000,000 | A$500,000 | A$554,000 | A$870,000 | A$1,345,000 | Investor and landlord buyers targeting maximum rental demand | Maximum walkability, major employment access, and a broad apartment selection that supports strong resale liquidity | Older towers can vary in quality, and some buyers dislike the noise, traffic, and transient feel of CBD living | Mid-Market |
| 9 | Randwick | A$15,602 | A$1,290,000 | A$490,000 | A$546,000 | A$858,000 | A$1,326,000 | Hospital workers, university buyers, and eastern suburbs locals | Strong demand from hospital staff, university communities, and eastern suburbs buyers keeps the apartment market deep and liquid | Competition is intense for good small apartments, and some pockets feel busier than nearby beachside suburbs | Mid-Market |
| 10 | Neutral Bay | A$15,320 | A$1,350,000 | A$480,000 | A$536,000 | A$843,000 | A$1,302,000 | Lower north shore owner-occupiers and upgraders | Village feel, quick CBD access, and solid older apartment stock attract steady owner-occupier demand year after year | Parking is difficult, and older walk-up blocks often lack lifts or modern amenities | Premium |
| 11 | Zetland | A$12,631 | A$960,000 | A$395,000 | A$442,000 | A$695,000 | A$1,074,000 | First-home buyers and urban professionals seeking modern buildings | Newer buildings, Green Square train access, and more modern layouts improve value for inner-city buyers watching their budget | Some towers trade on volume rather than scarcity, which can limit prestige and price growth potential over time | Mid-Market |
| 12 | Marrickville | A$12,361 | A$948,000 | A$390,000 | A$433,000 | A$680,000 | A$1,051,000 | First-home inner-west buyers and value-driven buyers | Inner-west culture, train access, and more reachable prices make apartment entry easier than in most other Sydney neighborhoods | Apartment supply is thinner than in tower precincts, so buyers face fewer available choices at any given moment | Affordable |
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Key insights about apartment purchase prices in Sydney
Insights
- Darling Point apartments cost about 2.4 times more per square meter than Marrickville apartments in 2026, which is one of the clearest ways to see how Sydney's harbour premium works in practice.
- Milsons Point and Darling Point sit in a genuine luxury tier of their own, with per-sqm prices roughly double those of Sydney CBD, Zetland, or Randwick.
- Manly stays expensive because the ferry-and-beach lifestyle drives apartment demand across many buyer types at once, not just one specific group.
- Bondi Beach apartment prices are higher than Bondi apartment prices, even though both suburbs share the same postcode (2026), showing that proximity to the sand still commands a meaningful premium in Sydney.
- North Sydney, Sydney CBD, Randwick, and Neutral Bay all cluster tightly together in per-sqm terms, which gives buyers in that budget range several real alternatives to compare rather than being locked into one suburb.
- Pyrmont looks expensive per square meter even though its suburb median is lower than most premium areas, because many of its apartments are compact studios and one-bedrooms that push the per-sqm cost up.
- Zetland is one of the clearest cases where newer building stock trades at a meaningful discount to eastern suburbs and lower north shore prices, making it one of the better value plays for buyers who prioritise modern layouts.
- Marrickville is the most affordable neighborhood in this comparison but it is still firmly inner-city priced, with a median close to A$950,000 in 2026, which is not cheap by any national measure.
- A Sydney beginner buyer needs roughly A$390,000 to A$610,000 just to enter the most accessible neighborhoods in this list, and that is for a studio or small one-bedroom, not a family apartment.
- Crossing the A$1 million median happens fast as soon as you move away from Marrickville and Zetland toward any inner-harbour or beach-adjacent suburb.
- Randwick is one of the most liquid apartment markets in this comparison, with deep and consistent demand from hospital workers and university staff that makes resale easier than in more niche or thinly traded suburbs.
- Neutral Bay has a higher suburb median than North Sydney even though its per-sqm rate is slightly lower, which points to Neutral Bay's typical apartments being physically larger on average.
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About our methodology
We believe being transparent about how we work makes our analysis more useful and more trustworthy. The same level of rigour applies to everything you will find in our real estate pack about Sydney.
First, please note that this data is updated regularly, so what you see here reflects the current values as of today.
In order to get reliable data on Sydney apartment purchase prices, we applied a strict source filter. We only used authoritative and verifiable sources, not random listings or unverified figures. More detail on those sources appears in the section below.
For each Sydney neighborhood, we aggregated the freshest apartment sales data available, focusing on the most recent 12-month window. When possible, we cross-checked multiple sources to confirm the same price range before including a figure.
This allowed us to estimate the average price per square meter and the median property price for each neighborhood across the Sydney apartment market.
We also calculated the starting budget for each neighborhood, which represents the lowest realistic entry point to buy an apartment there. This is not the cheapest possible listing that might appear once a year, but a real and achievable floor for a standard Sydney apartment purchase.
For each apartment category, we estimated average purchase prices based on local market conventions and consistent size assumptions: 35 sqm for studios, 55 sqm for one-bedrooms, and 85 sqm for two-bedrooms. These sizes are broadly representative of Sydney apartment stock and allow fair comparisons across suburbs.
These estimates were not applied as one flat number across the whole city. They were adjusted by neighborhood and apartment type to better reflect the actual pricing conditions in each area of the Sydney market.
This table should be read as a structured market estimate, not as an exact guarantee of transaction prices. Honesty, quality, and rigour are at the core of our work, and they are also what you will find in our real estate pack about Sydney.
What sources have we used to write this article about Sydney apartment prices?
Whether it is in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our real estate pack about Sydney, we rely on verifiable sources and a transparent methodology.
We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we have listed the authoritative sources we used to research Sydney apartment purchase prices in 2026, along with an explanation of how we used each one.
| Source | Why it is authoritative | How we used it |
|---|---|---|
| ABS Total Value of Dwellings | The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistics agency and the primary official source for residential housing value data. | We used it to anchor the broader Sydney residential market level. We also used it to sanity-check whether suburb-level apartment estimates sat within a credible citywide price range. |
| NSW Valuer General Property Sales Information | This is a NSW government sales data access point tied directly to official land and property valuation systems, making it one of the most reliable transaction records available. | We used it as an official cross-check on the depth of sales evidence at suburb level. We also used it to confirm that our analysis was based on real transaction markets rather than asking prices alone. |
| SQM Research Sydney Asking Prices | SQM Research is a well-regarded Australian property research firm with a transparent and consistent methodology for tracking market price series over time. | We used it to benchmark Sydney-wide unit asking price conditions in early 2026. We also used it as a market sense check against suburb medians derived from recent sales data. |
| Carto Australia Sydney Unit Prices by Suburb | Carto Australia provides suburb-level Sydney unit medians drawn from a clearly dated 12-month sales window, making it straightforward to compare across neighborhoods. | We used it as the primary source for each neighborhood's median apartment price in Sydney. We also used it to cross-check the relative price ranking between suburbs before finalising the table. |
| Domain suburb profiles (Darling Point, Milsons Point, Manly, Bondi Beach, Bondi) | Domain is one of Australia's major residential property platforms and publishes suburb-level apartment sales medians broken down by bedroom count, drawn from recent transactions. | We used Domain suburb profiles to obtain one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartment medians for each of the five premium Sydney neighborhoods covered. We also used these profiles to confirm recent transaction examples and local market context for buyers. |
| Domain suburb profiles (North Sydney, Neutral Bay, Sydney CBD, Pyrmont, Zetland, Randwick, Marrickville) | Domain's suburb pages for mid-market and affordable Sydney neighborhoods combine recent apartment sale medians with current local market depth indicators, providing consistent data across a wide range of price points. | We used these profiles to obtain bedroom-specific apartment price medians for each of the seven remaining Sydney neighborhoods in our analysis. We also used them to position each suburb within the broader Sydney apartment price ladder and to identify buyer profiles specific to each area. |
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