Investing in Sydney property: prices, rules and tips for buying

Buying an apartment or a house in Sydney means checking one thing before all others: your right to buy. Since 1 April 2025, and until 30 June 2029, Australia generally prohibits foreign investors from buying an existing home. If you are not an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, your project will therefore in principle involve a new or near-new home, or building land, with an approval to request before purchase.

The market itself remains one of the most expensive in the country. In the first quarter of 2026, the median sale price reached AUD 1,175,000 across all categories in Greater Sydney, according to the tables of the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). The metropolitan area had 5,638,830 inhabitants on 30 June 2025 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which is 75,230 more in one year.

This guide covers prices by area, the rules that apply to foreign buyers, the taxes to plan for and the steps of a purchase in New South Wales, the state of which Sydney is the capital.

Sydney property prices in 2026

The DCJ tables distinguish strata properties (mostly apartments) from houses on their own land. For Greater Sydney, in the first quarter of 2026:

• strata apartments: median price of AUD 855,000, up 3.6% over one year;
• houses: median price of AUD 1,550,000, up 2.3% over one year;
• whole market: AUD 1,175,000, with 18,763 sales over the quarter.

Gaps between areas

Strata apartment medians vary greatly from one local government area to another (first quarter of 2026):

• City of Sydney (centre, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst): AUD 967,000;
• Inner West (Newtown, Leichhardt, Balmain): AUD 1,025,000;
• Willoughby (Chatswood): AUD 1,180,000;
• North Sydney: AUD 1,300,000;
• Northern Beaches (Manly): AUD 1,309,000;
• Waverley (Bondi): AUD 1,555,000;
• Parramatta, the metropolitan area's second business centre: AUD 710,000.

For houses, the gap is even more marked: the median exceeds AUD 5 million in Waverley, against AUD 1,860,000 in Parramatta. These figures are quarterly medians: in an area where few properties sell, they can move significantly from one quarter to the next.

What renting out brings in

If you are buying to let, the same public data gives rents on new leases. In the second quarter of 2026, the median rent for an apartment in Greater Sydney was AUD 760 per week (+4.1% over one year): AUD 700 for a one-bedroom, AUD 550 for a studio. Always compare these rents with the purchase price, strata charges and the taxes specific to foreign owners, described below, before concluding that a property is profitable.