PRD Tamworth Property Market Update 1st Half 2023
In Q1 2023, Tamworth recorded a median house price of $480,000, and a median unit price of $320,000. This represents 9.1% annual (Q1 2022 – Q1 2023) median price growth for houses and -1.5% price softening for units. That said, on a quarterly basis (Q4 2022-Q1 2023) median prices softened by -4.0% for houses and -4.3% for units. These trends suggest cash rate hikes translated into the market. Sales have continued to decline annually and quarterly. Although the market is currently more affordable there is also limited supply available and thus despite the recent quarterly decline, median price growth has been 24.5% over the past two years (Q1 2021-Q1 2023)
Average vendor discounts between Q1 2022 and Q1 2023 have widened to a higher discount of -4.3% for houses and -4.6% for units. Although average vendor discount may imply a buyers’ market, supply and demand trends in Tamworth suggest a more balance market. Further, average unit vendor discounts have slightly stabilised between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, thus unit buyers must act fast to secure their property.
House rental yields in Tamworth were recorded at 4.0% in March 2023, well above Sydney Metro (2.9%). Furthermore, in the 12 months to Q1 2023 median house rental price increased by 7.1% to sit at $420 per week, alongside a significant increase in the number of houses rented (to 355 rentals). Average days on market remained at a low 23 days in Q1 2023. The same pattern can be seen in the unit rental market, confirming a highly demanded rental market across Tamworth.
3 bedroom houses have provided investors with +8.1% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $400 per week.
Tamworth recorded a vacancy rate of 1.2% in March 2023, which is slightly below Sydney Metro’s 1.3% average. The spike in early 2023# can be attributed to more investors capitalising on a tight rental market. That said vacancy rates in Tamworth remain lower than pre-COVID-19 time and under the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. This suggests a conductive investment environment, especially with a more affordable property prices in the past quarter.
