WHILE it should come as no surprise to learn property prices in country areas are more affordable than for our city counterparts, a new survey has confirmed we are much better off than our Sydney cousins.
The release last week of the Country Week Real Estate.com.au survey has revealed housing and rental costs are much more affordable in country and regional areas and Sydney-siders are starting to catch on.
Using figures from more than 40 individual real estate agents in NSW, the survey proves what Tamworth agents have been saying for a long time – cheap housing in an area free of congestion and plenty of employment opportunities makes Tamworth an ideal place to live.
Raine and Horne Tamworth principal Bryan Bolitho said this year’s Country Week produced a lot of positive leads for country agents.
“We didn’t have a representative from the Tamworth office but Raine and Horne did have a display at the expo and there have been a lot of positive things said from it,” he said.
“Mainly what we are hearing is that Sydney-siders have had a gutful of traffic and congestion on the roads and basically they just want to get out.
“Now add to that the fact they can come here and buy a brand new or near-new four-bedroom, double garage home for between $300,000 and $400,000 and you can see why Tamworth is so attractive.”
The survey showed the average price for a three bedroom home in town was $240,000, a four bedroom home $300,000 and a house on five acres $370,000.
Mr Bolitho said with plenty of opportunities opening up in the Taminda area as well as a skills shortage, Tamworth wasn’t lacking in employment opportunities either.
“We have received some very strong leads from Country Week and at less than an hour from Sydney by plane, why wouldn’t someone come up and see what we have to offer?”
PRD Nationwide and Colliers International principal and director Dean Cummins said because price increases in country areas were not as dramatic as in the major cities, when the market slumped, the price reductions were also less dramatic.
“It puts us on a very good footing and makes us a very affordable location compared to Sydney,” he said.
“However, I would encourage anyone thinking of putting their property on the market to do so because it is a very good time to sell.
“The number of properties on the market overall is down and we need new properties, so when people from out of town come enquiring we have a good range to show them.”
LJ Hooker Tamworth principal Richie Thornton said since 2000 there had been a huge amount of enquiries from metropolitan and coastal areas.
“Particularly investors,” he said. “They were coming in droves for a while because we had good prices and good yields.”
Rent for a three-bedroom home in Tamworth is $270 a week, a four-bedroom $290 and a one-bedroom flat is $120.
Mr Thornton said Tamworth also had the benefit of being located in a valley.
“Most country towns are flat and uninteresting but we are fortunate in having mountains and hills and I always say our hills are out water views,” he said.
“It makes us a very attractive option for people wanting to relocate from Sydney.”
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff