A portion of Sydney appears to have shielded itself from the housing slump, recording growth in home prices and sales activity over the past year.

A portion of Sydney appears to have shielded itself from the housing slump, recording growth in home prices and sales activity over the past year.

A recent report by Hotspotting showed that Sydney's outer-southwest housing markets, including Campbelltown, Camden, and Wollondilly, were able to record growth in sales activity over the past year, bucking the nearly 10% drop in the city's median property price.

Hotspotting analyst Terry Ryder told The Daily Telegraph that strong sales activity was observed in the Camden area, where prices are about $200,000 below the Sydney median.

"Camden is the only municipality with multiple growth markets. It is the precinct that is most resilient to the overall Sydney downturn," he said.

Properties in Camden suburbs like Oran Park, Cobbitty, Currans Hill and Appin were easily sold, taking only about half the time it took the average city home to find a new owner.

Also Read: Regional sellers happier with sale prices

Campbelltown's Ruse, Eschol Park, Eagle Vale and Ambarvale also managed to keep their housing markets busy, with properties exchanging hands in just under three weeks after listing.

"A significant rise in sales activity (usually) leads to a rise in prices," Ryder said.

In fact, figures from CoreLogic show that prices in Camden Park and Camden South rose by as much as 8% last year. Wollondilly's Thirlmere and The Oaks, meanwhile, reported price increases of 7% to 9%.

These suburbs are expected to be Sydney's bright spots as more popular areas like Parramatta, Waterloo, Rosehill, Homebush, Wentworth Point, Epping, Chatswood, Breakfast Point, and Haymarket and Mascot face risks of further value falls due to oversupply.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said suburbs with cheaper prices are getting more attention because stricter lending rules would not allow house hunters to go for more expensive properties.

"There are obviously fewer people who can get (a mortgage) on properties with a higher price," she told The Daily Telegraph.

Collections: