Atlas Market Insights

Is growth in the regional property market impacting the Sydney market? For decades, the state government has been trying to encourage people to move out from Sydney and to other regional capitals. Ironically, these strategies weren’t always that successful, but the pandemic helped homeowners to realign their home goals and place space at the top of their priorities. People who do not have to work in an office anymore or those in mining, agriculture and entertainment are finding plenty of jobs in regional centres, particularly the North Coast. The property market here has seen a 36% increase in price over the last 12 months, which is outstanding. Although it is always favourable to get congestion out of the cities, I predict that many workers will be called back into the office soon, likely on a flexible basis. This will likely lead to lower levels of demand in more far flung regional areas but is good news for places like Wollongong and the Central Coast. The desirability of inner-city living will surely return soon as well, with cafes, nightclubs and other arts centres beginning to open to their full capacity again soon. We will probably see a rush back to metro suburbs around this time. 9