‘IT’S CRAZY’: Housing market shows no sign of slowing

First home buyers and city escapees help fuel Coffs Coast property boom

THE Coffs Harbour housing market shows no signs of slowing as industry insiders give a glimpse of just how popular the region is becoming to those looking to escape the cities.

Less than a month ago, REA released figures showing Coffs Harbour enjoyed the second biggest property value growth during the last quarter and Mark Webb, director at real estate firm The Edge says it's still building.

And Mr Webb said he hadn't seen anything like it since the market "took off" back in 2001.

"I have properties I put online and there are 50 or 60 inquiries within the first 24 hours," he said.

"It's crazy."

Confirming that buyers were looking at Coffs Harbour for a change in lifestyle, Mr Webb said the growing ability to work from home and the "reasonable" prices up here were increasingly attractive to those looking to "escape" city life.

When compared to Byron Bay and Lennox Head where houses "cost a fortune", Mr Webb said the Coffs Coast market was so strong it didn't matter where listings popped up - they were still selling.

Mark Webb, director of real estate firm The Edge Coffs Harbour says the Coffs Coast property market is showing no signs of slowing down. Photo: The Edge Coffs Harbour

"(Location) doesn't make any difference, we are selling properties from Corindi right through to Valla and we are getting great prices for them as well," he said.

"You have got low interest rates that aren't going anywhere soon, people are getting back to into employment and you have an influx of people realising Coffs is a great place to live.

"I think we are in for a positive 12-18 months for real estate prices along the coast here and hopefully it will be longer than that."

Mr Webb said significant interest was coming from first home buyers looking to enter the market, a sentiment echoed by the Housing Industry Association's chief economist Tim Reardon.

Mr Reardon said the first home buyer "resurgence", fuelled by eased restrictions on accessing finance, had been "pulling the market forward".

"First home buyers have been taking advantage of this narrow window of opportunity as house prices have remained flat, interest rates at record lows and with the assistance of government support programs," he said.

"They account for around 40 per cent of the market in 2020, which is the highest share of the market in a decade."

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