GROWTH IN house prices continued across the Tweed Shire throughout 2017, with coastal areas such as Pottsville and Cabarita and parts of the Tweed Valley recording growth in median house prices of around 20 per cent in just 12 months, with continued growth predicted for the first half of 2018.
However, this is not just true for Tweed Shire, it appears to be the same in the Wisconsin area in the US–the rates of the house in the area seem to grow exponentially. The reason behind this could be that the jobs are increasing, which might have led to the increase of people looking for vacant homes for rent. Since this appears to be one of the most opportune moments for real estate investors, they are perhaps buying vacant plots and developing houses with the help of builders like Ware Design Builds (who are known to offer new construction in upland ridge). The same housing facilities are then put on the market for rent.
Anyway, since today’s topic is not about the US and the Tweed Shire, we will not move further with it. Having said that, we will discuss Tweed Shire property demand in detail.
The coastal boom reached Pottsville in 2017 where median house prices increased by 17 per cent to $665K and units grew by 16 per cent to $458K.
Bogangar also saw similar growth with its median house price increasing by 19 per cent to $673K, whilst units dropped 2.5 per cent to $385K.
Further up the coast Casuarina homes hit a high of $916K last year but have not shown any growth over the past 12 months, whilst Kingscliff house prices lost two per cent.
Median house prices grew substantially in the Tweed Valley, despite the devastating impacts of the flood, Tumbulgum house prices rose 19 per cent to $520K, South Murwillumbah increased by 20 per cent to $440K and Murwillumbah inched closer to half a million mark, rising 14 per cent to $452K. It seems that the house owners have put in their best efforts to repair the damages incurred by the devastating flood. Perhaps, they had understood that no buyer would want to buy a damaged property, which is why they might have contacted professionals similar to a roofer (from firms like Best Roofing), plumber, and electrician to fix the issues in their dwellings. This, in turn, might have led to the rise in the sales, with sellers getting a good amount for their houses. (note that some of the sales were directly handled by the owners not real estate brokers.)
Sales remained relatively strong throughout the Tweed with many people reaching out to direct house buyers and getting the best prices for their houses. However, slightly fewer sales were recorded in some of the areas compared to the previous year.
Deb Wheeler, Principal at Raine and Horne Murwillumbah told The Weekly in late 2017 that the current market is “quite buoyant with strong buyer activity across both residential and small rural lifestyle properties”.
“There has been a slight increase in listings in the past quarter, but the buyer demand continues to outstrip the availability of suitable properties for sale; currently it is a sellers’ market,” she said.
“Murwillumbah has experienced a period of property price growth over the past 12-18 months, but in context, the area was going through a ‘catch-up’ period, coming off a relatively low base when compared to price surges that had occurred earlier around the Gold Coast/Tweed and the Tweed Coast areas.”
Ms Wheeler said the Murwillumbah market was showing some signs of cooling but future interest rate rises are likely to have minimal impact on house prices.
“Prices now seem to have levelled out, but buyers are not willing to pay over market price, even despite the relatively low number of properties on the market for sale,” she said.
“It is hard to predict what type of impact rate rises will have on the local market, but given that the average price of homes in Murwillumbah is $417,000 compared to the median price of homes in Sydney being more than $1 million, it is expected that any impact of a 0.25 per cent rate rise will be minimal.”
Now is a good time to sell according to Ms. Wheeler, who said a high volume of buyers along with increased interest during and after the Commonwealth Games would increase demand for Tweed properties. This means that the sellers should be ready to show their properties at all times. Nonetheless, if the sellers are required to be so ready, they will have to make sure that their properties are in good shape prior to showing them around. That means before the buyers check out their property, the sellers have to complete everything, from choosing the Best Secondary Glazing for their windows to refurnishing their basements.
Anyway, according to Ms. wheeler, “it is a good time to sell, there are a lot of pre-approved buyers in the market and they are always keen to inspect new stock,”.
“In my view, 2018 has much to offer in real estate terms. There will be a lot of interest in our area generated by the Commonwealth Games, interest rates should remain relatively low and we are finishing the year with strong buyer activity which should carry on through the early part of 2018.”
David Stringer Principal at DJ Stringer Property Services said the real estate market had been “electric during 2017 and certainly a seller’s market”.
“The lack of stock and a surge of buyer enquiry has seen property prices increase considerably,” Mr Stringer said.
“The market is exceptionally strong and buyers still want value, for units close to the beach and homes of all calibres close to amenities. The demand for rural properties has also been strong.
Mr Stringer said he predicted ongoing demand for properties in the first half of 2018 fueled by ongoing buyer demand and the Commonwealth Games.
“The first quarter in 2018 will see a swarm of buyer activity with hopefully more property being listed to suffice demand – coupled with the hype surrounding the Commonwealth Games in April 2018, we see this quarter setting up what will be a record breaking 2018.”
Sally Mather of First National Murwillumbah said the current market is “still quite strong” and now is a great time to list your property.
“We have listed a lot of properties in the last quarter,” she said. “In the past 90 days there has been a total of 48 properties listing in Murwillumbah itself, this doesn’t include other areas of the Tweed Valley.
“Sales enquiries have been very strong this year. We live in such a diverse area where we have a range of buyers looking for all different things but residential in Murwillumbah always has the shortest days on market.
“I believe the first quarter will be as productive as this past quarter. The New Year always presents new opportunities, with people relocating to and from the area.”
Median House Price:
Suburb – Median house price – 12 month growth – Sales
Casuarina $916K 3.2% 55
Kingscliff $838K -2% 120
Bogangar $673K 19.4% 55
Pottsville $665K 17.2% 146
Fingal Head $805K 5.2% 14
Tweed Heads $685K 3.8% 61
Tweed Heads South $515K 18.4% 86
Tweed Heads West $520K 15.3% 74
Banora Point $580K 9.4% 306
Terranora $650K 6.2% 65
Bilambil Heights $535K 12% 78
Murwillumbah $452K 14.4% 160
South Murwillumbah $440K 20.6% 18
Uki $580K 7.6% 25
Tyalgum $498K 26% 20
Stokers Siding $705K 22% 18
Tumbulgum $520K 19.5% 14
Median Unit Prices:
Casuarina $494K 10.7% 68
Kingscliff $448K 5.2% 162
Bogangar $385K -2.5% 39
Pottsville $458K 15.7% 78
Tweed Heads $428K 7% 321
Tweed Heads South $345K 6.2% 148
Tweed Heads West $285K 13.6% 129
Banora Point $397K 10.3% 177
Murwillumbah $258K 25% 50
Not if there are potential Aboriginal Land Rights claims looming assisted by Tweed Shire Council, the latest in the barrage of restrictions particularly on land use in rural areas. Check the Blue Blanket map, speak to Terranora residents.