It's a tough one, but five of the city's top property experts agreed to reveal their top picks to Domain for the smart buyer of homes in the inner ring (within 10 kilometres of the CBD), middle ring (10-20 kilometres) and the outer ring (20 kilometres-plus).

"We'll be seeing about half the price growth we've seen in the last two years so, optimistically, that'll be around 8 per cent," says Domain Group senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson.

"While we're not seeing substantial income growth or more interest rate cuts to push growth up, we still have a strong economy and there's a lot of migration into Sydney and still an under-supply of property. There's still good potential for price growth around."

The best bits of the inner ring

Wilson nominates parts of Mosman and Vaucluse as offering good buys. "There's now more activity in the prestige markets as some of the lower and middle markets start to run out of steam," he says.

Byron Rose, of buyers' agents Rose & Jones, favours the inner west. "It's already been an outperformer when compared to other prime locations, but I think there's still a lot of growth there," he says.

"You've got tremendous facilities, trains, the light rail and a great diversity of culture."

His picks are Leichhardt, Stanmore, St Peters, Ashfield and Summer Hill.

Fellow buyers' agent Rich Harvey, of propertybuyer.com.au, also favours the inner west, particularly Enmore and Newtown as "both blue chip with an element of grunge that appeals to people", as well as Rozelle – the next best thing to Balmain – and Lilyfield, "close to everything".

Dulwich Hill is also a contender, a place that more and more people are "discovering is a great area", says David Milton, managing director of CBRE Residential, while Erskineville offers extremely good value, compared with higher priced suburbs nearby.

"And while there's very little volume of stock in the CBD, more and more people want to live there, so buying there would be a good decision too," Milton says.

The best bets of the Middle Ring

Stanmore is mooted to have solid capital gain prospects. This house at 82 Percival Road is currently on the market.

The St George region to the south is considered something of a second cousin of the inner west, says Angus Raine, chief executive of agents Raine & Horne. "But it has many of the features of the inner west and it is undervalued.

"You're just not having to pay for the cache." His most fancied suburbs there are Sans Souci and Kingsgrove.

In the opposite direction, he also favours Forestville and Frenchs Forest. "They're very, very nice family areas, with a big hospital going up there, and they're very good value."

Also around the northern beaches, Rich Harvey nominates Narraweena and Manly. "Manly is still very well priced, and Narraweena prices have jumped up recently, but not as much as other suburbs."

In the middle ring, David Milton prefers moving west to Meadowbank on the Parramatta River. "It has great views, a nice environment and is 20 per cent cheaper than across the road at Rhodes," he says. "People don't see its potential."

The best bits of the outer ring

Experts are also bullish on Avalon's prospects. This house at 5 Harley Road goes to auction on October 22.

With that increased energy in the prestige market, Andrew Wilson fancies Avalon on the northern beaches. "It's a good upper area and we'll see prices improving," he says.

Still on the beaches, Rich Harvey likes Cromer too. "It's a bit of a sleeper, with price growth still to come," he says.

To the north-west, there's plenty of promise too. Despite the row over rezoning at Castle Hill, Harvey says the north-west rail link still provides lots of potential growth.

That's the same for nearby Cherrybrook too, adds Angus Raine. "With the station, it's really taking off."

David Milton likes Parramatta. "We still see some of the best affordable two-bed, two-bath units there from the late $500,000s to early $700,000s," he says. "It's finally pulling ahead out of the doldrums."

Further west, Raine puts the smart money on Penrith. "There's been huge rezoning there so it's going to grow and grow," he says.

The south-west still has growth left too. "Liverpool is going to be like Parramatta in 10 to 15 years," Raine says. "It's an area that will only go up."

Harvey agrees. "And Campbelltown and Narellan both have a lot of potential, too," he says.

Thumbs up for Leichhardt

Mimi Boughtwood. Photo: Michele Mossop

Teacher Mimi Boughtwood wasn't surprised Leichhardt was named one of the best Sydney suburbs to buy into for the year to come.

"I tried to buy in Leichhardt for quite a while before I was successful," she says. "I just love everything about it. The Italian connection is wonderful for a start as I lived in Italy, teaching at an international school, for a few years, and this area has so much of that atmosphere.

"It just feels like a thriving community that is so inclusive of everyone, old and young, and it has a great village atmosphere with lots of great cafes and restaurants, and beautiful native trees."

Boughtwood, 57, and her partner Peter Wherry, 63, are now selling their two-bedroom house at 37 Reuss Street through Raine & Horne Montano agent Elizabeth Casamento​ (0412 284 931) at auction on October 7 for a price guide of about $1,150,000.

When they bought the home three years ago, it was dark and dingy. The couple undertook a complete renovation and now it's completely opened up with lots of light and airflow, timber floors and a modern galley kitchen. Upstairs is an attic home study, accessible via a remote-operated electric staircase.

"We're now looking for something a bit bigger that we can renovate as well," Boughtwood says. "But we want to stay in Leichhardt.

"It is a great family suburb that's wonderfully multicultural and diverse. There's lot of traditional features here, like sweet shops and a bootmaker, but there's also the wonderful cinema. We don't want to leave!"

Feature property

45 Marian Street, Enmore
$1.2 million +

Enmore is a great suburb to choose to buy a home,  the experts say, with plenty of quality properties available in an area only five kilometres from Sydney's city centre, and close to Newtown train station.

"It's always been very popular," says Prue Holcombe of Belle Property Newtown. "It's a great area."

She's  selling this freestanding, three-bedroom house at 45 Marian Street after its owner retired and decided to move to the Blue Mountains. The double-brick home was fully restored but there is scope for further improvements.

"It's a great house but there are still things you can do to it," says Holcombe (0408 973 026). "With council approval, you might be able to put on a second level, using part of the attic space."

There are  plenty of original features, including high ceilings, fireplaces, timber floors and plantation shutters, while the  kitchen, with gas fittings, is new  and the designer bathroom has a skylight and floor-to-ceiling tiles.

Outside, through glass bifold doors, there's an undercover entertainment deck and to the rear there's a carport with parking for one car. The house, close to Enmore Road and the cafes of King Street, goes for auction on October 3.

Or try these:

Inner ring: 

118 Raglan Street, Mosman
$1.5 million +

This pretty 1902 Federation semi looks like a time capsule after being owned by the same family for more than 60 years. With three bedrooms, lofty ceilings, leadlight windows, a marble fireplace and level lawn to the rear, it's ripe for a thoughtful update. For auction on October 8 by Cameron Scott of LJ Hooker Lower North Shore (0488 105 110).

Middle ring: 

5/2 Birkley Road, Manly
$875,000 +

Close to Manly Beach, this light, bright two-bedroom apartment is on the second floor of a building just a short walk to the area's cafes, restaurants and Corso. Its interiors are smart and spacious, with glass doors to the balcony and a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances. For auction on September 26 by Ben Daniel of McGrath Manly (0432 776 098).

Outer ring:

17 Wildman Avenue, Liverpool
$575,000 +

Close to Liverpool shopping and transport, this two-bedroom house has timber floors, separate dining, an open-plan gas kitchen and a huge semi-enclosed sunroom. There's also a spacious airconditioned sleep-out which could be used as a third bedroom, a teen retreat or a home office. For auction on September 26 via Simon Perri of Prudential Real Estate Liverpool (0407 042 023).