If you have ever considered a tree change or a sea change, then you are not alone, given the increase in the number of online searches for rural property outside of the major cities across Australia.
The thought of living in a regional rural centre that’s still close to shops, schools and medical facilities; where you wake up to space and a day’s chores on a hobby farm, or work from home that doesn’t require a daily city commute, is proving a popular search for city dwellers looking for an alternative lifestyle.
NSW is the top searched rural property state with 8 of the top 10 regional areas of Bathurst, Cooma, Mudgee, Orange, Dubbo and Singleton, making up the list. Not surprisingly the Southern Tablelands of NSW took out the top two spots with Yass and Goulburn, given their easy reach to Canberra and Sydney while still living within a fully functioning rural town.
The Yass area is enjoying sustained growth thanks to the changes to the Local Environment Plan which allows subdivision down to 40 hectares, allowing buyers more options to create their own hobby farm or simply buy a parcel of land within a reasonable price range.
The flow on effect means the town of Yass has been able to retain many of it’s essential services including medical facilities, public and private schools, banks, along with aged care facilities. Plus, the continued growth of the region is supporting local Yass small business, ensuring the town’s immediate, medium and longer-term future.
With a wide range of properties from 2 to 80 hectares to choose from, the other drawcard of the area is it’s main form of intensive agriculture for the region being vineyards and grape growing. Rural residential and small farm properties range from $800,000 to $1.2 million. Larger properties prices start around $1,500 an acre up to $3,500 an acre depending on the quality of the land holding.
Prices have been steadily increasing over the past 18 months, according to the local real estate agents with Sydney buyers and a strong agricultural market helping the region.
An hour east, Goulburn is in a similar situation with the lifestyle properties proving the most popular along with it’s close proximity to the main highway, Sydney, Canberra and the NSW South coast.
Top 10 most searched areas in Australia for rural properties
- Yass, NSW
- Goulburn, NSW
- Mildura, VIC
- Bathurst, NSW
- Cooma, NSW
- McLaren Vale, SA
- Orange, NSW
- Dubbo, NSW
- Mudgee, NSW
- Singleton, NSW
Search data source – Commercialrealestate.com.au
