The surprising NSW tree-change towns where house prices rose most

Sydney Morning Herald

3 days ago

Home buyers looking for a bargain are having to hunt harder across the state, as regional NSW house prices accelerate skywards to hit a record median of $800,000.
After clocking up house price growth of 5.3 per cent over the year to June – the biggest jump in about three years and overtaking Sydney's 4.2 per cent annual house price rise – buyers are having to look even further afield for affordable regional options, the latest Domain House Price Report, released on Thursday, reveals.
As a result, the five areas where housing prices have jumped the most because of a surge in demand all have median house prices at the comparatively inexpensive sweet spot between $560,000 and almost $670,000.
'These areas are now proving attractive to home buyers and metropolitan investors because they are the most affordable locations,' said Domain's chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell.
'We're seeing a clear acceleration in price in the NSW regions with a 2.6 per cent rise in the last quarter alone, which is the same as in Sydney. Interest rate cuts are giving people more confidence and boosting the housing market everywhere.'
It means some of our most overlooked regional areas are now winning fresh attention. Fifty years ago, for instance, the NSW Upper Hunter coal town of Muswellbrook grabbed global headlines when it was referenced by American rock band Steely Dan in their hit song Black Friday as somewhere to go to get lost forever.
Today, however, it has recorded the biggest house price growth of all the regions in the state, adding 18.2 per cent over the past year to a median of $585,000.
'For a long time Muswellbrook suffered from a cringe factor from the cities and metropolitan areas,' said local First National agent Tony McTaggart. 'As a result it's always been undervalued.