Lifestyle buyers are facing a harsh reality check as the once-coveted tree-change destinations of Bowral and Byron Bay become some of ‘s hardest sells.
New data from Cotality has revealed the country couture Bowral–Mittagong property market is turning into one of the nation’s toughest sells as buyers swipe left on quaint weatherboard cottages and grand heritage homes.
The once red-hot tree‑change retreat is cooling off fast with homes languishing on the market for a staggering average of 77 days, the worst in regional NSW, as desperate sellers dangle a whopping 5.3 per cent median discount just to secure a sale.
Byron Bay also faced tough selling conditions with homes sitting on the market for an average of 68 days and also attracting vendor discounts of nearly 6 per cent.
Cotality economist Kaytlin Ezzy said just three regions saw values decline over the year, with the Bowral-Mittagong region in the central highlands recording the sharpest decline.
‘The picturesque tree-change market saw significant growth throughout the early pandemic upswing, however, that growth saw the region become the most expensive market behind Byron Bay and Sydney, the third most unaffordable market nationally,’ she said.
‘This unaffordable price tag, coupled with normalised listing levels and below average sales, has put downward pressure on values.’
The median price of a home in Bowral-Mittagong is $1.15m, while Byron Bay commands a price tag of $1.8m, down 23 per cent from its peak in April 2022.
The Bowral-Mittagong region also recorded some of the weakest selling conditions, with properties sitting on the market for around 79 days and vendors offering a median discount of 5.3 per cent in order to secure a sale.
Byron Bay recorded a median of 68 days on the market with vendors discounting nearly 6 per cent, the highest of all of the regional markets in NSW.
Agent Michael Murray from Byron Property Search said vendor discounting was largely driven by vendors pricing their homes based on pandemic-era highs.
‘Properties are suffering when they’re listing it at an over price,’ he said.
‘Properties that are listed at fair value are usually selling quickly.
‘A lot of people still have their cash register eyes on the money from COVID and they haven’t come back from the 30 per cent so we’re still getting the residue of lots of people thinking their property is worth more than what it actually is worth.’
Mr Murray said Byron had just experienced a period of not being ‘flavour of the month’ which had impacted on house prices.
‘Every now and again Byron goes through a phase of people thinking it’s too snotty, it’s too expensive, and people go off it, but I think we’re coming out of it,’ he said.
Mr Murray said sales in the mid-level market, homes between $1.5m and $3m was facing tough conditions.
‘The only things making that market move are the four Ds, death, debt, downsize and divorce,’ he said.
On the flip side Lismore in the northern rivers region of New South Wales was the standout performer across the top 50 regional markets, rising 4.5 per cent over the quarter to a new peak in July.
The town has made a full recovery from the nearly -18 per cent decline recorded amid the 2022 flood recovery.
Ms Ezzy said the rest of the top five performers was a mixed bag, with just one resource market, Bunbury in Western , making the list, a significant departure from the trend seen over the past few years.
‘Western and Queensland’s mining markets have dominated value growth rankings over much of the past two years,’ she said.
‘However, momentum has eased as the relative affordability advantage that these regions once offered dissipates.’
While no longer the top performers for quarterly growth, Albany (23.1 per cent) and Geraldton (20.8 per cent) in WA, and Mackay (18.2 per cent) and Townsville (16.7 per cent) in Queensland, still saw the strongest annual increases.
Victoria claimed the top seven rungs on the scoreboard with sales counts in Shepparton-Mooroopna, Ballarat, and Bendigo jumping up around 30 per cent.
‘Sales volumes across Melbourne and regional Victoria have been somewhat muted in recent years due to less favourable taxation, demographic and supply changes,’ Ms Ezzy said.
‘Although rising from a low base, the uptick in annual sales activity reflects a turnaround in sentiment, with affordability advantages and capital gains prospects, reigniting buyer interest.’