Upper Hunter Property Market Update 1st Half of 2022

In Q4 2021, Upper Hunter recorded a median house price of $425,000, and a median unit price of $237,500. This represents annual (Q4 2020 – Q4 2021) median price growth of 21.3% for houses and 7.0% for units. Between Q4 2020 – Q4 2021 total sales in both markets increased, by 25.4% for houses (to 262 sales) and by 96.6% for units (to 57 sales). Double digit price growth and increased sales volumes indicate real returns on investment. This makes now an ideal time for owner-occupiers and/or down-sizers to capitalise on the market and transact in Upper Hunter.

Average vendor discounts between Q4 2020 and Q4 2021 have tightened for both property types, to 0.0% for houses and -0.8% for units. Market conditions in Upper Hunter have sharply shifted toward favouring sellers, where buyers have less negotiating power and are paying close to the initial first listing price.

In December 2021, house rental yields in Upper Hunter were recorded at 4.8%. In the 12 months to Q4 2021, the median house rental price increased by 7.5% to reach $430 per week, while average days on the market declined by -12.5% (to 21 days). Strong rental yields and increased median house rental price growth are good indicators for investors and represents a resilient rental market.

2 bedroom houses have provided investors with +17.1% rental growth annually, with a median rent of $328 per week.

Also in December 2021, Upper Hunter recorded a vacancy rate of 0.6%, slightly below that of the Hunter Region (0.7%) and well below Sydney Metro (2.6%). Vacancy rates in Upper Hunter have remained under 1.5% for the past 18 months and continued to remain well below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. This confirms there is a healthy level of rental demand and investors can be confident of a conducive investment environment in Upper Hunter.