Smart sellers are reaping the rewards of the booming Northern Rivers property market
“The Northern Rivers real estate market has been like a plane taking off, and now we’re at 36,000ft and cruising … there is a buyer for every single property.”
Lismore
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In a property market where competition is fierce, auctions turn into full-blown bidding wars and homes only stay on the market for a few days, there is serious money to be made on the Northern Rivers.
Homeowners are sitting on gold mines.
But the fact remains that even if they do decide to sell, they still have to live somewhere.
And that’s why a new trend on the local real estate scene is seeing some people pocket a small fortune ‒ and still have a house of their own.
Bill Johnston, who runs McGrath’s Alstonville office, said he had noticed a lot of Northern Rivers residents “transitioning”.
“This is when we see people who are already locals selling their homes and moving to a cheaper part of the region,” he said.
“So they may have a place in Lennox Head or Ballina or Alstonville, they sell that, and move to say East Lismore.
“It means they can still have a nice home to live in, but the money they’ve made from their other property leaves them with a good amount of cash in the bank.”
This trend has seen the demand for properties in the Lismore area skyrocket in recent months.
Mr Johnston said East Lismore in particular was proving to be a popular spot.
“People who bought in the last two years are seeing a 15 to 25 per cent increase in the value of their properties,” he said.
“The Northern Rivers real estate market has been like a plane taking off, and now we’re at 36,000ft and cruising.
“There is a buyer for every single property.
“Sellers are getting interest in their properties in less than a week; serious offers in a week.”
Auctions are the main method of sale in this competitive market.
Mr Johnston said it meant sellers had a choice of selling before auction, or letting the market drive the price up on auction day.
Properties that are not sold via auction often do not have prices listed.
It makes things difficult for first home buyers, Mr Johnston admitted.
His advice was to be prepared.
“Have your finance in order, get the pest and building inspections done quickly, be ready to make an offer and have everything in line,” he said.
“Sellers will not wait. Someone else will snap it up.”