Hunter Valley Property Market Update 2nd Half of 2021

In Q3 2021, Hunter Valley recorded a median house price of $645,000, and a median unit price of $485,000. This represents annual (Q3 2020 – Q3 2021) median price growth of 29.4% for houses and 26.0% for units. Between Q3 2020 – Q3 2021 total sales decreased by -7.3% for houses (to 280 sales) and increased by 35.9% for units (to 53 sales). Growth in median price and number of sales is a clear indication of real returns in capital investment for units. There is an undersupply in the house market, as price growth is alongside lower stock. Now is the time to transact and benefit from a highly demanded market.

Average vendor discounts between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021 have swung to premiums of +1.7% for houses and 0.4% for units. House and unit market conditions in Hunter Valley have now shifted to favour vendors, as buyers are willing to offer above the first listing price. For the first time since 2015 we are seeing average vendor discounts becoming a premium in the Hunter Valley.

In September 2021, house rental yields in the Hunter Region were recorded at 3.8%. In the 12 months to Q3 2021 the median house rent price increased to reach $490 per week, further complemented by average days on the market declining by -16.7% (to 15 days). This indicates that the Hunter Region has remained a strong rental market throughout COVID-19.

3 bedroom houses have provided investors with +12.5% rental growth annually, with a median rent of $450 per week.

Also in September 2021, the Hunter Region recorded a vacancy rate of 0.7%, well below that of Sydney Metro (2.7%) but slightly above Maitland LGA’s extraordinary low rate (0.2%). Current vacancy rates in the Hunter Region are among the lowest in the past three years and have remained well below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. There is strong rental demand, thus investors can be confident of a conducive investment environment.