Hunter Valley Property Market Update 2nd Half of 2022
In Q2 2022, Hunter Valley recorded a median house price of $716,500, and a median unit price of $497,500. This represents annual (Q2 2021 – Q2 2022) median price growth of 19.4% for houses and 13.0% increase for units. Total sales slowed between Q2 2021 – Q2 2022, by -36.6% (to 182 sales) for houses and by -22.2% (to 28 sales) for units. Current owner occupiers and down-sizers can benefit from real returns on capital investment, as median price growth has been fuelled by an undersupplied house and unit market. The imbalance in demand and supply can provide a buffer against cash rate hikes.
Average vendor house discount between Q2 2021 and Q2 2022 have swung to a discount of -2.2%, which does create an opportunity for buyers. Over the same period units has seen discounts widen to -1.7%. This suggest sellers are willing to negotiate below the first listing price, which creates a unique opportunity in a double-digit growth median price increase market.
House rental yields in the Hunter Region was recorded at 3.6% in June 2022, much higher than Sydney Metro (2.5%). This was paired with a 14.6% increase in median house rental price (to $550 per week) in the 12 months to Q2 2022 and a 25.5% increase in the number of houses rented (to 261 rentals in Q2 2022). A strong increase in median house rental price coupled with strong rental yields suggests the Hunter Region remains a beneficial market for investors.
4+ bedroom houses have provided investors with +16.0% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $580 per week.
In June 2022, the Hunter Region recorded a vacancy rate of 0.9%, slightly above that of Maitland LGA (0.6%) but well below Sydney Metro (1.6%). Vacancy rates in the Hunter Region remain well below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. Low vacancy rates remain a feature for the Hunter Region, sitting under 1.0% for the past 18 months. There is a healthy level of rental demand and investors can be confident of a conducive investment environment.
