Patchy Growth in Regional NSW

Hotspotting

The Regional New South Wales market overall is solid, without excelling at the levels seen in other regional areas like Queensland and Western Australia, but with individual out-performers.

There is hesitancy in the Regional NSW market overall. It has a high number of locations where buyer activity is lukewarm and price performance below the levels seen elsewhere in the nation.

It’s noteworthy, however, that Regional NSW has seen better performance in its unit markets than its house markets, which is part of a national trend.

Overall sales levels have improved, continuing a pattern of recovery over the past year, but remain well below the peak levels of 2021. Regional NSW saw a major decline in its market in 2022 and early 2023, with signs of gradual revival seen since mid-2023.

Amid this overall patchy performance, there are some standout growth markets, based on individual Local Government Areas including those in the Wollongong, Newcastle and Albury regions.

The Wollongong region continues to be a state-leading star. The City of Wollongong LGA has an above-average number of rising locations and the nearby Shoalhaven LGA continues to thrive: quarterly sales over the past 18 months have been rising steadily, showing one of the best patterns of growth in the nation. The Shellharbour area is also part of this region’s growth.

Newcastle remains an outstanding market and neighbouring LGAs including Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and the Hunter Valley municipalities all have busy markets.

The Mid Coast LGA has delivered steady increases in market activity over the past year, quarter by quarter. Both Forster and Tuncurry have rising markets and Taree is highly consistent.

While those markets are heading into over-drive, some of the high-profile regions of NSW have not yet got out of second gear.

The Central Coast still has a degree of uncertainty; Byron Bay is showing signs of recovery, after a high peak in 2021 and a deep post-boom trough in 2022 and 2023, but remains well peak the 2021 boom levels; and both Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie have had patchy results over the past year, with indications of recovery in the latest quarter.

The Tweed LGA is showing signs of joining the boom experienced north of the border in the Gold Coast region, without yet being fully on board.

Elsewhere in Regional NSW, Dubbo, Wellington, Orange, Gunnedah, Inverell and Tenterfield are classified as rising markets; Goulburn and Mudgee are rated as recovery markets; and Armidale, Glen Innes and Parkes stand out for consistent sales activity.