It is widely accepted that Sydney's housing market has become increasingly unaffordable, but there are still some pockets of the city that are within reach for average income earners.

The median income in Sydney is $2,129 a week, inclusive of tax and super, according to the 2021 census.

If we put that into the government's MoneySmart mortgage calculator, a person earning that income could afford a purchase price of up to $556,000.

So let's look at what they could have bought in Sydney in September under that price.

Most affordable homes in Sydney's west

A total of 357 properties sold for less than $556,000 in Sydney in the past month, according to the REA Group. 

Seventy per cent of those were in Western Sydney, and another 15 per cent were in south-west Sydney.

Only a handful were in areas such as the Northern Beaches, North Shore or inner city, and none were in the eastern suburbs.

The local government area (LGA) with the largest number of affordable properties was Cumberland, 25 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD, where almost 20 per cent of all affordable properties were sold.

Cumberland includes suburbs such as Merrylands, Granville and Wentworthville.

It was followed by Blacktown City Council, Liverpool City Council, and Canterbury-Bankstown.

The suburb with the single-largest number of affordable properties was Liverpool with 32.

All the properties except for nine were apartments. The remainder were either houses, townhouses or villas.

Here is an example of a typical property in the Cumberland LGA within that range: a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit in an older block in Merrylands. 

It sold for $410,000 on September 21. 

Growing demand for Western Sydney apartments

Paulette Ghaleb from LJ Hooker Merrylands, Granville and Guildford has been a real estate agent in that area for 32 years.

She said there had been a notable increase in demand for units in those suburbs since the beginning of the year, as they had become among the few affordable options in Sydney.

"The units I'm selling will generally sell within a week or two … and that's very, very unusual for units in our area, but that has been the case since the beginning of the year," Ms Ghaleb said.

"A lot of first home buyers and investors have been priced off the market with respect to homes and now they're turning their attention to units because they're a lot more affordable."

She said a growing number of buyers were being priced out of other areas, while others were looking to escape high rents.

"You've got a different range of buyers," she said. 

"Most of them are either locals who've been renting in the area … or the younger generation from more affluent areas who just can't afford to buy in those areas that want to get in the market.

"There's a real demand for the smaller, older-style complexes with staircases and no fancy features because they're perceived as a safe bet." 

Few options for first home buyers

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the data showed the shrinking availability of affordable options in Sydney.

"We know [Sydney] is one of the least affordable cities in the world and buying a home at a price of around $550,000 or below is very difficult," Ms Conisbee said.

She said there were some pockets within Greater Sydney that remained within reach.

"If you go to Western Sydney, you may not be able to buy a house for $550,000 … but you can definitely buy a unit in many places," she said.

She said there was an emerging trend of "rentvesting" — someone buys a home as an investment for their first home property, and then rents elsewhere.

"It's hard for us to track exactly how many people do rentvest, but the idea is that you rent where you want to live, so you have to live in Sydney because of your job, but you invest in a property elsewhere that is a lot cheaper," Ms Conisbee said.

"What it does, it typically allows you to do is get into the property market and once you're on the property ladder, it is easier to then upgrade over time."