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With Sydney’s property market at “peak fear” and buyers in high-priced lifestyle coastal markets also catching the jitters, NSW’s less sexy inland regions have come to the fore, flaunting spectacular house price growth.
Prices there have rocketed by as much as 36.3 per cent over the year as a result of buyers seeking out more affordable areas to either move to or invest in, the latest Domain Home Price Report for the first quarter of 2026 has found.
It’s areas such as Narrandera in the Riverina region, Broken Hill in the far west outback, Moree Plains on the northwest slopes and Armidale in the Northern Tablelands that are topping the price growth charts.
“One of the core things with regional NSW outperforming Sydney is that those areas are more insulated from changes in interest rates and in the economy,” said Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell.
“In Sydney now, we’re seeing peak fear with interest rate rises limiting borrowing capacity and general uncertainty over rises in the cost of living and global issues because households tend to be more indebted with the city’s high prices.
“But regional local government areas (LGAs) are much more affordable and low priced, so they’re attracting first home buyers, downsizers, upgraders and investors, all pushing their prices up.”
As a result, the report shows Sydney prices dropping by 0.04 per cent over the March quarter to a median of $1.79 million – its first fall since 2022 – while regional house prices overall in NSW rose 3.1 per cent in three months to a record median of $845,000.
For the NSW regions, that’s the sixth straight quarter of increases, albeit the rate of growth eased marginally over the previous quarter.
Stellar house price gains were recorded in Narrandera, of 36.3 per cent over the year to a record median of $407,500, Broken Hill at 25 per cent to $250,000 and Moree Plains at 22.8 per cent to $353,750.
Armidale regional council area rose 21.7 per cent to $620,500 and Tamworth regional council rose 21.4 per cent to $645,000.
By contrast, in favourite hangouts such as the Byron shire, median prices rose by only 3.6 per cent, Shoalhaven by 5.2 per cent and Kiama by 6 per cent.
“Affordability is really strong in some of the NSW regions and so they’re becoming even more attractive than some cities,” said Real Estate Institute of NSW president Thomas McGlynn. “Also, since COVID, we’ve learned that you don’t have to live in a city to hold a job that was traditionally only previously done in the city.
“We’re also seeing so much infrastructure now going into the regions, and big business investing – some in data warehousing and AI – so they’re becoming hubs for jobs and industry. And lifestyle elements are improving all the time.”
In Narrandera, Jamie Bertolin of Griffith Leeton Real Estate says they’ve experienced a flood of investors looking for lower entry prices and higher yields than in the city of up to 7 per cent.
“It’s mostly investors coming in buying between $450,000 and $500,000 although we still do sometimes have people move here, too,” he said.
“We’re a small quaint country town, with wide streets, cafes and bakeries, but we’re still a bit isolated for many people.”
Broken Hill, with the lowest median price in the state, is fielding plenty of investors and regional movers. Matthew Handberg of Century21 Broken Hill said “the affordability means it’s a good opportunity to get on the property ladder for first home buyers, while we also get retirees, upgraders and investors who can sometimes get yields of up to 10 per cent.
“While we don’t have a huge population, we’re a very welcoming community and have an airport, a good hospital and decent services, and our liveability has improved over the last five to 10 years.”
Kelly Atkins of Raine & Horne in Moree says she has never been assailed by so many buyers’ agents from the cities in the 40 years she’s worked in real estate in the area.
“Lots of them are investors and yields can be more than 7 per cent,” she said. “For owner-occupiers, we’ve had good demand for good, tidy homes, and there’s lots of work in the agricultural sector. There’s a lot of benefits of living in small regional towns, and it’s all very affordable.”
In Armidale, Peter Georkas of Hutchinson & Harlow Real Estate is a big cheerleader for the regions too. “Asset-rich and cash-poor people in Sydney can sell their house for $2.5 million and buy something here for $600,000 to $800,000,” he said.
“That gives them enough money left over to live extremely well. We’re now getting lots of downsizers here, and it’s a top place to live.”
