The regional NSW suburbs where home searches surged during lockdown

Australians were busy dreaming of an escape to the country or a switch to the seaside amid the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, new property search data shows.

Having been cooped up at home, house hunters have increasingly turned their gaze to the coast, the slopes and country estates offering plenty of space.

Suburb property searches spiked by up to 117 per cent across regional NSW, Domain data shows, with the small suburb of Possum Brush, about a 20-minute drive north-west from Forster, recording the biggest spike.

It was followed by Tanglewood in the Tweed Shire (104 per cent), Rockley in the Central Tablelands (80 per cent) and Glendon Brook in the Hunter Region (77 per cent), all of which had about 100 homes or fewer according to the latest census data.

Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said there had been an increase in people contemplating a tree change or sea change during lockdown, but noted some of the greatest increases were coming off a very low base in small suburbs where search behaviour could spike off a few new listings.

Alex Jacobs of JKL Real Estate said he had seen interest from right across the country for a Possum Brush cottage listed for $339,000, which was previously featured in a Domain story.

“We’ve had inquiries from Western Australia and Victoria, but they are still mainly coming from NSW,” he said of the property which is part of Clarendon Forest Retreat. “Mostly from retirees that travel a bit, that don’t need to a home to live there all the time [as the owners can only be there for 32 weeks per year].”

Bexhill (68 per cent), Wilsons Creek (64 per cent) and Clothiers Creek (54 per cent), which are all within about a 40-minute drive from Byron Bay, were also among the top 10 regions which saw the biggest increases. Others included Perisher Valley (62 per cent), Werri Beach (59 per cent) on the south coast and Bulga (55 per cent) in the Hunter Region.

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The Domain data showed the percentage change in the number of searches for property – covering rentals, sales and new developments – in regional suburbs between March 26 and June 9 compared with the period between January 1 and March 25. It only included suburbs with more than 1000 searches during both timeframes.

Of more than 1300 suburbs measured, only about 14 per cent saw an increase in search activity.

“Search interactions in NSW as a whole are down 22 per cent,” Mr Wiltshire said.

“That was really driven by the mid-March to mid-April period when the impact of COVID-19 was becoming apparent and concern about its health impacts were at the peak, that’s when people weren’t searching for or thinking about property.

“But since then [property searches] have rebounded quite dramatically and a lot of places in the country where people are thinking about potentially [relocating to] … have picked up.”

Mr Jacobs added interest from Sydney buyers had picked up across the mid-north coast region since social distancing restrictions had eased.

“As soon as people could travel here and inspect property we saw an increase,” Mr Jacobs said. “We always get the retirees out of Sydney but we were interested to see, with more people starting to work remotely, whether they could then come to these seaside towns.”

As in Victoria, where the lure of the ski fields proved popular with house hunters, the alpine switch was also a trend seen in NSW, Mr Wiltshire said, with Thredbo Village, Crackenback and Jindabyne also recording a spike in search behaviour.

“The alpine story is there for NSW as well,” Mr Wiltshire said. “It’s that time of year when people are thinking about getting away to the snow.”

Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Orange and Wagga Wagga remained the top suburbs for home searches across regional NSW during the lockdown, however all saw a decline in search interactions. Tamworth, Wollongong, Bathurst, Dubbo, Coffs Harbour and Albury rounded out the top 10.

Of the top 100 searched suburbs outside of Sydney, Jindabyne (27.6 per cent), Griffith (23.8) and Berry (6.1) were the only areas to see an increase in property searches.

“Go back two months ago and it was looking a bit doom and gloom … it’s the complete opposite now,” said Nick Dale of Belle Property Berry.

“The rural stuff is going fantastic and 99 per cent of interest is from Sydney,” he said of his region, which stretches from the coast to Kangaroo Valley (up 26 per cent). “It’s a move that’s probably been on their mind for some time, but recent issues have nudged them to make the call.”

Mr Dale said sellers were also keen to get in on the action, noting he had three properties hitting the market next week and another five to follow in the coming weeks.

Whittingham in the upper Hunter region saw the biggest drop of all the suburbs, falling 84 per cent, followed by Eumungerie (-78 per cent) in the Dubbo region, Hanging Rock (-77) on the Northern Tablelands, Central Wagga Wagga (-77) and Mount Lindsey (-75), Barrallier (-74) and Werai (-73)  in the Southern Highlands.

Souce: https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-regional-nsw-suburbs-where-home-searches-surged-during-lockdown-961339/?fbclid=IwAR23V2YeQLJ8qGfQkj5bVH7JYKYS3zrBrpd4EbJQVxs05GPUtSBPvSl80zk