REINSW CEO: ‘Unprecedented’ gains in Byron Bay property market came with a high social cost

“We’ve never seen a market had that sort of a gain ... but when somebody can’t get a roof over their head, that to me is quite troubling. It should be troubling all of us,” said REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin.

The property boom in Byron Bay is a two-side story of big winners and bigger losers, according to the Real Estate Institute of NSW.

REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said properties have gained value at a pace never seen before, with Byron Bay leading the pack with 37 per cent in the last 12 months, while at the same time the rental vacancy rates have dropped to 0.9 per cent in the Northern Rivers.

“Last year, the Byron Bay market when up 37 per cent in a year,” Mr McKibbin said.

“That is unprecedented. We’ve never seen a market had that sort of a gain.

“That’s the sort of wild swings you see in the share market, not in the property market.

“The property market is very stable, it may gain but it never gains 37 per cent in a year.”

Mr McKibbin said many buyers in the Byron area have kept their homes in metropolitan areas.

“Many people who realised they can work from home have decided not to sell their home in Sydney but they will buy another property here in Byron Bay,” he said.

“They are cashed up, so they buy secondary properties, so now you have families or individuals who own properties in Sydney, they had not freed that asset into the market, but have come and consumed another asset in Byron Bay.

“Also, we’ve had more than 500,000 people come back from overseas into the country.”

Asked if such gains spilt over to inland areas such as Lismore and along the coast to Ballina, the executive said the effect has not been homogenous.

“It has been patchy, but the more favoured areas (were) those places (favoured) from a lifestyle perspective, they have come under a lot of pressure,” he said.

“In such disruption as we see now, there are winners and losers.”

Mr McKibbin was alarmed to find out the current rental vacancy rate in the area is 0.9 per cent.

“It’s all very well that people liquidate their asset and make a lot of money. That’s great,” he said.

“But when somebody can’t get a roof over their head, that to me is quite troubling. It should be troubling all of us.

“A 0.9 per cent rate means that even if people find a property, they in most cases will not be suitable for the circumstances.

“A family may only be able to find is a one-bedroom flat, and that’s ridiculous.

“When people with good jobs can’t find anywhere to live, when people in full time work and families are unable to find a property, that I think is a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed as a priority.”

The executive met with Northern Rivers real estate agents in Ballina on Tuesday for the 2021 REINSW Roadshow.