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Regional New South Wales has been forecast to compete with South East Queensland to become Australia\u2019s hottest property market – find out which towns have the brightest prospects and what it will cost to invest there.<\/p>\n
While South East Queensland has deservedly been hogging the headlines as Australia\u2019s hottest property market, a nearby rival is emerging to challenge it for the crown.<\/p>\n
New research by Canstar and Hotspotting has highlighted regional New South Wales\u2019 potential to become the best performing property market in the nation in 2022.<\/p>\n
Metrics analysed in the Rising Stars Report<\/em> comprised sales volumes, quarterly price growth, vacancy rates, rental growth and infrastructure spending, with regional NSW coming out as the top ranked of 14 jurisdictions across the country.<\/p>\n The report found a vast majority of towns in regional NSW recorded growth in median house prices in the latest quarter, while 72 per cent of suburbs and towns outside of Sydney have vacancy rates of below 1 per cent.<\/p>\n Around 75 per cent of regional NSW locations have increased weekly rents by more than 10 per cent in the last 12 months, while significant infrastructure projects such as the Pacific Highway upgrade and the Inland Rail Link are pushing up values in towns along the routes.<\/p>\n Report author Terry Ryder said the high ratings across all five metrics were unsurprising for New South Wales, which has recorded elevated levels of residents shifting from Sydney to the regions since the onset of the pandemic.<\/p>\n The research unearthed capital growth potential in a mix of locations close to Sydney, including the Central Coast, as well as far flung towns such as Wagga Wagga<\/a>, Dubbo<\/a>, Singleton<\/a> and Cessnock<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first locations to benefit from new population and new real estate demand were lifestyle locations close to Sydney including the Central Coast, the Southern Highlands, Wollongong<\/a> and the towns of the Shoalhaven region, and the Blue Mountains,\u201d Mr Ryder said.<\/p>\n \u201cMore recently, the trend has expanded to include more distant regional areas that offer lifestyle benefits at prices enticing to Sydney buyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese include Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Valley outside Newcastle<\/a>; coastal centres such as Port Macquarie<\/a>, Coffs Harbour<\/a>, Port Stephens and the South Coast towns; and inland regional centres such as Orange<\/a>, Bathurst<\/a>, Mudgee<\/a> and Dubbo<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Ryder said the most high-profile regional centre in NSW experiencing a property boom was Byron Bay<\/a>, which has recorded a median house price gain of 48 per cent in the last year, 77 per cent in the last three years and 147 per cent over the last five years.<\/p>\n Nearby centres such as Mullumbimby<\/a> and Suffolk Park<\/a> have posted similarly strong gains in the past 12 months, with median home values rising at a rate of 29 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively.<\/p>\n But Mr Ryder said the exceptional growth also stretched right across the state, to remote locations such as Glen Innes<\/a> (up 30 per cent), Dungog<\/a> (up 24 per cent), Forbes<\/a> (up 21 per cent), Howlong<\/a> (up 25 per cent) and Moree<\/a> (up 34 per cent.)<\/p>\n \u201cBear in mind not all regional areas will come with an affordable price tag,\u201d Mr Ryder said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is where it\u2019s important to consider the growth potential, rental yield and secure a low rate loan to ensure the investment stacks up.\u201d<\/p>\n Regional NSW\u2019s brightest investment prospects<\/strong><\/p>\n