Regional NSW Homes Top Australia’s Most Valuable List | Nick Tsagaris

Regional NSW Homes Top Australia’s Most Valuable List Nick Tsagaris

Regional markets experienced renewed momentum as more people sought out weekender properties and flexible working from home conditions enabled workers to escape from the city.

CoreLogic data released Tuesday predicted a two speed housing situation to emerge in the country, with Queensland and Adelaide set to buck the trend of a 2022 slowdown currently being experienced in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

The most popular regional markets have seen housing values rise more than 30 per cent over the calendar year, with the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven recording the highest annual rise in home values at 37.7 per cent, followed by Queensland’s Sunshine Coast at 33.7 per cent.

CoreLogic’s Research Director Tim Lawless said that housing values across regional Australia are up 32 per cent, compared to the 5.1 per cent rise seen in the September quarter.

“This potentially reflects a new wave of demand as buyers exited the extended lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne,” Mr Lawless said.

“It is likely that regional markets, especially those with lifestyle appeal, will continue to benefit from higher demand as remote working policies are more normalised, and demand for holiday homes remains strong amid continued international border restrictions.”

The CoreLogic data found that both Sydney and Melbourne had significantly slowed down, delivering the softest monthly results since October 2020, as buyers face larger deposit hurdles as a result of the combination of low income growth and high house prices.

Housing inventory is low across regional Australia, with advertised stock levels finishing the year well below the fiveyear average at 35.9 per cent.

This compares to combined capital cities seeing stock 14.2 per cent below the five-year average.

As interest rates begin to bottom out, and affordability constraints extend to regional markets, these housing markets may also move into a downswing phase over the course of 2022.

“In many cases, buyers moved to regional areas to avoid paying the same amount of money that they would in Sydney,” Mr Lawless said.

“Conditions will slow down next year, with issues like housing affordability continuing to impact the Sydney market. As long as regional NSW values remain consistently high, buyers will continue to make a sea change or tree change to fit their lifestyle.”