Paddington rules the terrace house price league

There were just eight on the list of terrace suburbs this year - though APM says terraces are to be found in 18 suburbs.

APM's head of research, Yvonne Chan, said low sales volumes due to the slower market meant exclusive suburbs, such as Woollahra, had not made the list. "We need at least 10 sales to establish a median price," she said.

After Paddington, next up in terms of median price among terrace suburbs was Bondi Junction, with 12 terrace sales for a median $900,000 (a 2.2 per cent fall).

Darlinghurst is in third place with 13 sales and a median price of $865,000 - this was a massive 17.7 per cent increase in the past year from $735,000.

The only other terrace suburb to report growth in median prices for terraces over the year was ugly duckling Redfern, where a 12 per cent jump in the median price over the year allowed it to leap from bottom rung in the terrace ladder to seventh spot. There were 11 terrace sales for median of $700,000.

Darlinghurst and Redfern rose because both suburbs attracted first-home buyers. "In 2008, the median price in Darlinghurst was quite a bit lower than it is now so back then Darlo and Redfern were cheapest for terraces in the city and east area," Ms Chan said.

Fourth was the suburb long referred to as the "next Paddington", now-trendy Surry Hills, which had 18 terrace sales for a median $792,225 - a drop of 1.5 per cent.

After Paddington, Newtown had the most terrace sales - 29 for the year.

Its $650,000 median terrace price was also the lowest among the eight terrace suburbs, although it was also the most stable, since it had exactly the same median a year earlier.

In fifth spot was Glebe (15 sales and a $770,000 median) and Darlington was sixth (13 sales and a $705,000 median).

Source: www.smh.com.au/national/paddington-rules-the-terrace-house-price-league-20090424-ai22.html