‘Wonderful sense of community’: NSW sea-change towns that soared

A string of regional NSW towns have recorded double-digit house price gains of up to 25 per cent in the past year as they provide better affordability and lifestyle than Sydney.

The council areas of Lismore and Richmond Valley topped the list, rising 25.1 per cent and 19.7 per cent in the year to September, respectively, due to a ripple effect from the Lismore flood zone buyback scheme, experts say.

House prices rose in the Richmond Valley area.Credit: Danielle Smith

That was followed by the Murray River (up 16.1 per cent), Yass Valley (up 15.8 per cent) and Muswellbrook (up 14.7 per cent).

While the median house price across regional NSW overall was 2.7 per cent higher in the September quarter than a year ago, it slid backwards by 0.7 per cent in the last three months, the latest Domain House Price Report, released on Tuesday, revealed.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said buyers were drawn to regional NSW for its greater affordability and lifestyle balance despite the end of the extreme tree- and sea-change movement during 2020 and 2021.

But even then, buyers were caught up in the cost-of-living pressures of high prices and high mortgage rates. “It’s showing the first quarterly decline in two years,” Powell said, adding demand was stronger for relatively affordable areas.

Powell said only two of the top 10 local government areas that recorded the strongest price growth were more premium areas – the local government areas of Tweed and Kiama.

“Some of these regional LGAs that are seeing the strongest rates of growth are more affordable locations,” Powell said. “That’s telling us that there are different dynamics unravelling in regional NSW.”

Meanwhile, buyers had more homes to choose from in regional areas this spring for the first time since 2020, she said.

“That 8.5 per cent increase [in listings] is a massive reversal of a period of time where overall listings were 20 to 30 per cent lower than the five-year average.”

Elly Bird, executive director of support group Resilient Lismore, said homes were selling for a cheaper price straight after the floods, but those who waited for the government buyback scheme were able to reinvest elsewhere nearby.

“You could pick up homes that, before the disaster, were worth $500,000 to $600,000, were selling for $200,000,” she said, adding that it is a lot rarer now to find those cheap flood-damaged houses.

While not all properties were eligible, Bird said more than 800 affected properties across the region were grateful to be approved for a government buyback scheme; more than 600 of those were in Lismore.

“Most people who lived through that disaster, especially people who had to be rescued, they just wanted a lifeline, and they wanted a way to get out of the flood zone and to be able to live somewhere safely,” she said.

Kiama property prices have soared.Credit: Wolter Peeters

“We need to remember that the Lismore LGA is much bigger than just the flood zone,” said Bird, who said the CBD was as vibrant as any other regional centre.

“You could be forgiven for not knowing that something had happened here. But when you get out into the residential areas, there’s a different perspective, because the damage that’s still evident in the residential stock is very clear.”

George & Fuhrmann Casino’s Jenny Pedrini said there was a remarkable increase in sales in Casino, a suburb within the Richmond Valley region under the $600,000 price range.

“We noticed a huge influx from the Lismore area that was flood-affected,” she said.

The increase in sales came from residents who were approved for the buyback scheme, Pedrini said, adding that the region is also affordable for first home buyers and investors due to demand in the rental market.

“Stock levels are low. There are buyers waiting for the right prices to come online,” she said.

“We are only 25 minutes from Lismore. If they are working in Lismore they are commuting back to Lismore,” she said.

Further south, city dwellers are flocking to the coast. Ray White Kiama’s Michele Lay said that the region was affordable even as a luxury market compared to Sydney.

Lay said many buyers from Sydney lease their properties out until they can retire.

“There’s a wonderful sense of community here. We’re not overdeveloped, and obviously, we have exquisite scenery and beaches.”

KPMG regional economist Terry Rawnsley said regional NSW has resilient economies.

“When we had that initial burst of people doing the sea change and tree change, it reinvigorated all these regional economies,” he said.

Rawnsley cautioned that numbers can fluctuate in regional areas depending on the stock being sold.

“Sometimes in the small markets, it just takes a few of those bigger trades to come through for numbers looking a bit skyward or in the next year look a bit flatter,” he said.