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The rollout of the NBN to many regional areas that has coincided with COVID-19 lockdowns has seen hordes of city slickers looking to enjoy a slower pace of living and more affordable homes.
Raine & Horne’s executive chairman, Angus Raine, said COVID-19 lockdowns “have helped fast-track the shift of city buyers to our regional population centres because of faster internet speeds that is making remote work from a regional population centre more seamless”.
He considers the NBN rollout as having occurred “at precisely the right time”.
“It means more Australians can keep their city-based jobs but move to regional centres to take advantage of real estate affordability and lifestyle benefits,” Mr Raine said.
So, what are some of the areas Raine & Horne is seeing growth?
Cowra (NSW)
One such location benefiting from both the NBN rollout and increased buyer demand is Cowra, located in NSW’s central west.
According to David Fagan, Raine & Horne Cowra principal, “demand from Sydney is huge right now, and we don’t have enough stock to sell to these buyers”.
Demand isn’t concentrated in just one area, with Mr Fagan noting interest in town-based houses starting at $180,000 as well as across lifestyle acreages.
He considers the four-hour door-to-desk commute to Sydney as “no longer prohibitive for those with hobs located in the city”.
“People can work online from home in Cowra and visit the head office in Sydney for one day a fortnight for face-to-face meetings,” he commented.
But it isn’t just Sydneysiders who are looking to make a country move. He’s recently sold a 12-acre parcel to a Darwin-based couple who bought sight unseen.
“We used virtual tour technology and Skype to showcase the property to the couple,” Mr Fagan said.
Strathalbyn (SA)
Located 45 minutes south of Adelaide, Strathalbyn is seeing new buyer demand, thanks to COVID-19 and internet capabilities.
According to co-principal of Raine & Horne Strathalbyn Sally Ness, “people from the capitals are realising they can have city jobs but now enjoy a tree change to green pastures”.
“Given our proximity to Adelaide, people can commute daily, weekly or monthly, and we are seeing more buyers from the city and the Adelaide Hills cashing up and moving to our region,” she stated.
Ms Ness said “NBN connection is a big issue with buyers at almost every inspection”.
According to the agent, city buyers were already considering Strathalbyn moves pre-NBN, but “COVID has highlighted that with faster internet connectivity they can now enjoy the fresher air of a regional town and still keep their city job”.
While most purchasers do hail from Adelaide, Ms Ness said there has been increasing demand from interstate buyers, especially those currently in lockdown.
“The Melbourne buyers seem desperate to escape and are happy to buy properties in Strathalbyn sight unseen,” she commented.
“Some have even paid above the asking price.”
Cairns (Qld)
South Australia isn’t the only state benefiting from stir-crazy city slickers, with Raine & Horne Palm Cove also reporting heightened demand from Melbourne residents.
“To be fair, there are usually a lot of people from Melbourne holidaying in Cairns and Palm Cove this time of year, but because of COVID-19 and border closures they can’t,” principal Susan Plummer said.
According to the agent, her office has been inundated with inquiries from Melbourne and some buyers have even flown to Cairns and taken two weeks in quarantine before going shopping for a new home.
“Recently, the successful buyers of a waterfront apartment even stayed in Palm Cove rather than fly back to Melbourne to pack up their old homes as they couldn’t face another two weeks in quarantine,” Ms Plummer said.
She said they had even paid removalists to pack up their homes and transport their belongings to Palm Cove.
From Ms Plummer’s perspective, buyers from the southern states are moving to Cairns for the fresh air, sun, sand and sea lifestyle, “as even during lockdowns we can enjoy the tropical lifestyle of pool and outdoor dining with our climate”.
Acknowledging that people now know they can earn capital city salaries while living more regionally, the agent considered better NBN connections as “clearly critical to this realisation”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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