Suburbs in regional New South Wales rose as the best-performing regional markets in terms of price gains, according to the latest report from CoreLogic.
Richmond-Tweed claimed the top spot for houses after it recorded a 12.6% growth in median value in January. Houses in this region have a median value of $696,394.
During the period, Richmond-Tweed registered a 14.2% growth in house sales. Houses also sold faster in the suburb, with days-on-market down to 46 days from 64 days a year ago.
In terms of units, Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven performed the best. Units in the suburb have a median price of $484,642, representing a 17.9% annual increase.
Unit sales in the suburb rose by 34.6% while selling days shrank from 87 days to 60 days.
Tim Lawless, executive director for research at CoreLogic, said the level at which prices in regional markets increased was four times higher than that of capital cities.
"Demand for regional housing can be attributed to a range of factors. Generally, prices are cheaper than their capital city counterparts, housing densities are typically lower, which is likely to be appealing amidst a global pandemic, and many workers have a new found appreciation and ability to work remotely which is supporting additional demand," he said.
Lawless said it appears there is some momentum behind this trend although he is uncertain as to how long this is going to last. However, he said that the popularity of regional markets is likely to persist in the next few months.
"Many workers and employers have found the working from home experiment to be successful, with productivity remaining high while workers enjoy additional flexibility in their work life balance. Areas that offer up the best of both worlds; an ability to commute into the capital city metro areas while living regionally may be more successful long term," he said.
