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It’s 2014 all over again — just without the ice bucket challenge.

House hunters in multiple areas across Sydney have been purchasing homes at or close to prices last recorded five years ago as sellers continue to slash their asking prices to counter the current market slump.

CoreLogic figures showed the areas with the biggest reversal in prices were spread across the southwest, Western Sydney and the Hills district and Ryde area.

They included suburbs Cobbity, Denham Court, Catherine Field, Mulgoa and Box Hill, among others.

Many of these areas had been in high demand when the market was booming but rampant housing construction has given buyers more choice, forcing sellers to adjust their prices.

The suburbs were also fiercely popular with investors up until 2017 when banks began clamping down on investment lending, squeezed out much of the previous competition for sales and putting home buyers in the box seat.Tips to keep ahead of the property market

Among the notable price falls were in North Ryde and nearby suburb Meadowbank, where heavy apartment construction helped pull down median unit prices from over $720,000 two years ago to about the $650,000-$670,000 mark.

It’s meant current apartment buyers are paying the same prices they were five years ago.

A similar trend was recorded in Penrith suburb Mulgoa, where the median price of a house was $1.39 million in 2017, but has since dropped to $829,000 — marginally below the level it was in 2014.

Divisions of larger blocks resold as smaller, cheaper lots explained some of the drop in the Mulgoa median, but local agents also reported weakened investor activity had an impact.

Buyers have a chance to get a better deal.

Home buyer Chantelle Stevenson and partner Eric recently bought a block of land in local estate Mulgoa Rise where they will be building their dream home and said their purchase went unexpectedly quickly.

The couple had heard stories about buyers in the surrounding area camping outside sales offices the night before a land release to avoid missing out on blocks and were expecting to come up against strong competition from other buyers.

“We were surprised how easy it was,” Ms Stevenson said. “We knew people had been waiting years for some of these blocks to become available.”

Their experience of competing for property was also much smoother than a year ago when they bought their current home, she added. “We felt like we were in a much position this time as buyers than we were last year.”

1 Dukic St, Bonnyrigg Heights was first listed at over $1.32 million but the price has been cut to $1.06 million.

Developer Mupha executive general manager Tim Spencer said buyers in the estate were capitalising on the choice of properties available, which appealed to first home buyers and upsizers.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the notable absence of investors in many suburbs, especially those with new housing estates, was creating “good opportunities” for owner occupier buyers.

“There’s a chance to get a better deal,” Ms Conisbee said. “Not only are prices down, but buyers have more time to think about their purchases. They can negotiate more and there is no rush to buy, which was something buyers struggled with during the boom.”

This article was first published in www.realestate.com.au. Here is the link to the original article: https://www.realestate.com.au/news/the-sydney-suburbs-where-buyers-are-paying-2014-prices/