Ray White Now | February 2022 | Page 33

6 . LIFESTYLE PROPERTY DEMAND REMAINS STRONG
While a strong performing agricultural sector has driven up the prices of many farms and houses in regional towns , strong demand for lifestyle properties has also played a role . We have never seen so much movement to regional Australia - there were lots of things driving this , but the search for space was a big one , as was rising demand for second homes and changes in the way people work . This change in demand extended to homes on big properties in some of the most beautiful parts of regional Australia .
The regional areas that saw the most price growth in 2021 were predominantly in New South Wales , although Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast in Queensland also made the list . The Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven saw the biggest jump with the median jumping by almost $ 320,000 during the year . Berrima ’ s median increased by double that to reach well over $ 1.8 million .
Other areas that not only contain a large number of lifestyle properties , and also saw strong price growth , included the Richmond-Tweed area , particularly the Byron hinterland , as well as the Hunter Valley .
Demand for lifestyle properties is set to continue , although it is likely that price growth will slow in line with more stable property market conditions expected in 2022 .
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