Fringe no more: Off-the-plan apartments hot as Sydney corridors shift

Colliers national director of residential development sites, Guillaume Volz, said Sydney’s improved transport links have turned suburbs once considered ‘fringe’ into the heart of the city’s fastest-growing corridors.

“We’re seeing a lot of interest in sites along Metro lines and other well-serviced train lines,” Volz said.

“In some ways, it’s a reordering of the city, as areas that were considered a long way from the city 12 months ago are now suddenly at the centre of many buyers’ and developers’ conversations.”

The report found that off-the-plan developers have reviewed their suburbs' criteria to better fit buyers' demand.

In the once car-dependent suburbs in Sydney’s north west, such as Castle Hill and Norwest, buyer sentiments have shifted due to public transport in 2025, as the region experienced renewed levels of interest.

“Developers who may not have considered these suburbs even three years ago are seeing what is happening and are seriously considering re-evaluating their positions,” Volz said.

“Travel times, reliability and connectivity have all improved, and the demographics of north-west Sydney are shifting with them.”

Colliers national director of residential project marketing, Blake Schulze, said Sydney’s North Shore has seen the biggest market movement, with the Metro driving renewed demand for apartments.

“Sydneysiders love the Metro and want to be near it,” Schulze said.

“If you can live near Crows Nest Metro station, you can be in the city in around 10 minutes, while North Sydney Metro station is even closer.”

“So we’re seeing strong demand in these suburbs. You only have to walk the streets of Crows Nest or North Sydney to see how much more vibrant they have become in just 12 months.”

According to realestate.com.au, the median price of units in Crows Nest has jumped by almost 20 per cent in the past 12 months.

A diverse range of buyers

While suburbs with the best outlooks and access continue to attract aggressive competition, the report found that the mix of buyers was also evolving.

Schulze said that while downsizers have dominated the off-the-plan unit market over the past few years, first home buyers and “apartment for lifers” have been returning in significant numbers.

“We’ve been fielding a lot more enquiries from first home buyers in late 2025,” he said.

According to Schulze, many first home owners are dual-income households that are often supported by their parents, who pursue a lifestyle close to work and amenities.

For “apartment for lifers” who have made the conscious decision to pursue low-maintenance urban homes, internal amenities such as storage, flexible spaces and child-friendly common areas have been a driving factor.

“These are families who want to walk to school, walk to the park, jump on public transport and be in the city quickly,” Schulze said.

“They don’t see apartment living as a compromise at all, but as the preferred way to live.”

Schulze said that a diverse market meant developers had to cater to all buyers when designing new projects.

“This includes a good spread of one, two and three bedroom stock with price points that allow first home buyers into the building, without sacrificing quality,” Schulze said.

“At the same time, they also need to deliver designs that don’t just maximise views, but are practical for contemporary life.

Investors continue to hesitate

Schulze said that the only buyer group that has been underperforming was investors, who made up as little as 11 per cent of the buyers in Sydney’s off-the-plan market in 2025.

While investors typically made up the bulk of Sydney’s apartment buyers, Schulze said the off-the-plan market would likely continue to be dominated by owner-occupiers.

Despite this, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data found that investor lending rose by 13.6 per cent in the September quarter of 2025, and Schulze said that the rise in lending was “very noticeable on the ground”.

“While investors have been quiet for the past half-decade, Colliers has recorded a 24 per cent uplift in investor enquiries over 2025,” Schulze said.

In terms of developments for investors to buy into, Volz said that the construction industry was not in a position to handle new projects.

”It’s not financing or planning that’s holding the off-the-plan market back. It’s execution capacity,” Volz said.

“Most active developers already have three to five projects in motion, and you can only take on so much risk at once.”

Due to the construction backlog, Schulze said the market was unlikely to see a “flood” of developments in the near future.

“What we are more likely to see is well-placed, well-designed projects that actually match how people actually want to live,” Schulze concluded.