Sydney ranked Australia's 8th most livable city

Sydney has been ranked the eighth most livable city in Australia, a national survey of residents' views of their own city released on Monday by the Property Council of Australia show.

Canberra is now Australia's most livable city, nudging out Adelaide for the top spot for the first time in four year, according to the survey of 5,400 people across 10 Australian cities.

The survey asked the respondents to rate their city on the issues that matter to them, such as housing affordability, climate, traffic congestion and amenities.

Adelaide dropped to the second spot, dragged largely by an increasing pessimism about local economic and employment opportunities, the Property Council said.

Canberra's rise was driven by continued improvement in safety, clean environment, good schools and healthcare.

Hobart was ranked the third, followed by Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle, Wollongong, Sydney, Perth and Darwin.

Sydney residents marked their city down for high housing costs and traffic congestion.

"This is the people's verdict on their own citya report card for governments on urban livability," Property Council Chief Executive Peter Verwer said in a statement.