Favourable conditions in Tamworth create ‘rare opportunity for eager buyers’
Following low stock levels and a stable median price, Tamworth has emerged as a hotspot for buyers across all price ranges.
Recent research by PRD Real Estate on Tamworth in regional NSW revealed that the latest market conditions have opened a window of opportunity for buyers across all price ranges.
Over 2024, the company analysed the performance of the Tamworth market and the surrounding areas of Armidale, Gunnedah Shire, Uralla Shire, Liverpool Plains Shire, and Walcha Council.
The company’s insights have been categorised into “lifestyle” properties ranging from 5–50 acres and rural properties of 50 acres or more.
Partner at PRD Tamworth, Justine Cameron, said that the median land price for lifestyle properties over 5 acres in Tamworth and the surrounding areas has remained relatively stable in the past five years.
Nevertheless, the amount of acreage land sold in this category declined significantly in 2024, due to a shortage of available stock and less rural land being rezoned for residential purposes.
Cameron said that the favourable market conditions in regional NSW have positioned Tamworth and its surrounding areas as an ideal location for lifestyle properties.
“The stability in median land price, alongside lesser number of sales, is mostly due to current economic conditions and higher interest rates, which creates a rare opportunity for eager buyers,” she said.
Research showed that Tamworth’s 61 lifestyle properties sold in 2024 marked a 45.5 per cent decline from volumes in 2023.
Of the 61 Tamworth sales in 2024, 50 were registered as premium with a final price of $750,000 and above, while 36.1 were in the affordable market and sold for less than $599,999.
Beyond Tamworth, Cameron noted that the trend was also evident in other markets across regional NSW, such as Armidale and Uralla, where activity in the premium market surged over 2024.
The market was more balanced across the 20 sales in the Liverpool Plains area in 2024, with an equal 42.9 per cent in the affordable price range and 42.9 per cent in the premium category.
Cameron said that the Gunnedah market showed more affordability, with 60 per cent of sales being within the affordable price range.
As a result of the range of properties at different price points, Cameron said the market has a variety of opportunities for buyers.
“Overall, with the lifestyle that rural living offers, there is a property for every budget in Tamworth and its surrounding areas,” Cameron said.
Rural sales skew to the affordable side
Looking at the rural market in Tamworth and the surrounding areas, Cameron noted that the median price for land with more than 50 acres has shown an upward trend in the past four years to 2023.
In 2024, however, research showed that median prices in the rural market significantly fluctuated due to low stock levels.
The number of acreage land over 50 acres sold in 2024 declined as a continuation of a declining pattern of the last five years within Tamworth and the surrounding areas.
Over 2024, Tamworth recorded 49 sales over 50 acres, marking a 39.5 per cent decline from sales volumes in the previous year.
Among the rural sales, 63.3 per cent were recorded as affordable, with a final sale price of under $1,999,999, while 24.5 per cent of sales fell into the premium market, fetching prices of over $2.9 million.
Cameron said that the trend towards affordability in rural sales was present in a number of nearby regional NSW markets.
Across Gunnedah’s 17 rural sales in 2024, 58.8 per cent were in the affordable price range, compared to 17.6 per cent in the premium.
Similarly, Uralla’s 15 sales saw 80 per cent in the affordable price range and 13.3 per cent in the premium, while Walcha’s 12 sales saw 58.3 per cent in the affordable category and 33.3 per cent in the premium.
Contrastingly, Cameron noted that Armidale and Liverpool Plains established themselves as more premium markets over 2024.
Looking at Armidale’s 29 sales in 2024, 34.5 per cent were affordable and 44.8 per cent were premium, while in Liverpool Plain’s 23 sales, 39.1 per cent registered as affordable and 60.9 per cent were in the premium category.
Nevertheless, Cameron said that PRD’s research into rural sales volumes in Tamworth and the surrounding areas showed that “there are opportunities for buyers with various budgets”.