Lismore property prices on the rise: HTW

The Lismore region has seen an increase in sale prices over the past six month, according to a recent Herron Todd White (HTW) report.

The property valuation firm says that there is a lack of good quality stock with high demand.

Agents are reporting well-presented houses being sold within days, sometimes hours, of hitting the market.

The top end of the market ($450,000 plus) is considered hot.

“We are seeing evidence of increases of up to 15% on houses that have resold within 12 months,” the report stated.

“Four-bedroom, two-bathroom brick and tile houses built after 2010 are proving to be very popular.”

The majority of purchasers are families looking to upsize or get into a home of their own.

The other popular dwelling is the classic, older 1900 to 1940s renovated property, however the renovation needs to be modern and opulent while staying true to the original design.

This is a hard combination to pull off, but when done right the market will pay handsomely, HTW advises.

The report said there were two sales last year in Girards Hill that managed to get the right mix of modern and classic and were sold for $740,000 and $750,000, while traditionally this area achieves $300,000 to $375,000.

The level of demand and lack of available stock is pushing prices up with premiums being paid to secure a property.

This is not considered sustainable over the long term.

“We caution that if there were to be an increase in stock or changes in the economic climate, the higher end of the market would be impacted more dramatically than the lower end,” the report warned.

With the pressure on the higher end of the market we are seeing good demand for lower end (sub $300,000), fixer upper, older style properties with good bones that can be readily updated to be flipped or kept as a first home.

This is proving popular with the younger demographic as an affordable way to enter the market.

Since the beginning of 2017, both Casino and Kyogle enjoyed an improving trend of potential buyer enquiries.

The type of buyer comprises a mixture of first home buyers, investors and existing home owners.

However what is interesting to note is that there has been an increase in non local interest, i.e. people moving into the area where it has been mentioned that the local area (Kyogle and Richmond Valley Council area) is considerably more affordable than other areas within the Northern Rivers.

Predominantly, the properties of interest within Casino and Kyogle are houses in the $200,000 to $300,000 price bracket and modern, well presented, rural residential estate properties on a typical one to five acres around the $400,000 to $600,000 price mark.

A three bedroom house at 2 Cascade Drive, Casino (above) has been listed for $269,000.

Similarly a two bedroom house at 21 Caddie Avenue, Kyogle (below) has been listed for $329,000.