Tamworth and greater New England home values soar through interest rate bites

The average value of a residential house in New England and the Northwest has jumped by over $100,000 in the past two years, according to data from property analytics company CoreLogic.

"The COVID-boom unlocked enormous value across the New England and North West region ... house values [are] 44.6 per cent higher than where they were at September 2020," CoreLogic Head of Research Eliza Owen said.

Home values in the Tamworth - Gunnedah region have grown at the third-highest rate in NSW over the past 12 months, landing in the top 10 out of any regional area in Australia.

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Research from CoreLogic suggests the housing boom in the New England region is catching up to the rest of NSW after being undervalued through much of the 2010s.

"It's been great. You get through the harder times - the drought slowed us down - but you get through the bad to get to the good, and now we're competing with the best of them," Burke & Smyth real estate sales consultant Jason Wherritt said.

There is also evidence city-wide lockdowns and work-from-home arrangements sent homeowners out into the regions, looking for good deals in high-growth areas.

"Especially Tamworth, from a commercial aspect, businesses and commercial developments are still growing, so we've still got those inbound relocations," Mr Wherritt said.

Other real estate companies are also seeing high demand from people moving out of the cities.

"We're getting enquiries every day from people all over wanting to relocate and invest," Residential Sales Associate Dan Watson said.

Despite interest rates causing home values to fall across most of regional NSW, Mr Watson said Tamworth's growth is stable, and that prices plateauing is the only "worst-case scenario" he could see in the near-future.

"We're not noticing that you sell a house and see the next-door house sell for $5,000 more the next day any longer, but we are still seeing continued growth. It's still chugging along and we're still getting record prices," Mr Watson said.

Even first-time homebuyers aren't being deterred from Tamworth's inflating house prices due to its relative affordability.

"There's very few places that you can move to and buy a modern four-bedroom home with an ensuite and a double garage for six to seven hundred thousand," Mr Wherritt said.

And it's this affordability that's expected to keep the local housing market bubbling, regardless of any more interest rate increases.

"The market is climbing. It's not the market we had four months ago, there's a bit more caution, but due to basic demand and supply the sales still proceed and the prices are still strong," Director of Southwell Property Stuart Southwell said.

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