IT’S a tough time for people hoping to buy a home in Bathurst with the median house price jumping by $30,000 in the past 12 months.
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The Domain State of the Market Report, December Quarter 2018 shows the median house prices across the Central West and how much they have grown during the past few years.
Bathurst topped this list for the most expensive median house price in the region at $450,000, followed by Orange at $415,000, Dubbo at $365,000, Cowra at $285,000 and Young at $275,000.
Data provided shows that not only was Bathurst the most expensive place to buy a home in the Central West, but that prices had jumped by 7.1 per cent in one year, from $420,000 to $450,000.
When compared to five years ago, prices have jumped by 31.5 per cent when the median cost for a home in the city was $342,250.
Century 21 Bathurst director Troy Kearney said while the median price may have gone up, house prices were still very affordable.
“It’s still extremely affordable, there’s houses for sale for $200,000 in Bathurst,” he said. “That’s why Bathurst is so desirable and we’ve got everything in between – $200,000 up to $1.5 million.”
Mr Kearney said a number of factors have help Bathurst’s median house price grow so well during the past year.
“We’ve got affordability, lifestyle, we’ve got good growth and good jobs, we’re not reliant on any one industry sector,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll slow down, I think it’ll keep growing that much again in the next 12 months.”
Bathurst is still extremely affordable, there’s houses for sale for $200,000.
- Century 21 Bathurst director Troy Kearney
Raine and Horne director Matt Clifton said prices may have increased in the past year, but things had changed recently.
“Within the last quarter, things have certainly flattened out here and come back a notch,” he said.
“We’ve moved from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. [However], we’re not Sydney and we haven’t had those record drops.”
Mr Clifton said the banking royal commission had also had a significant impact on people seeking finance to purchase a property.
“It’s more difficult to get credit and banks are becoming more cautious,” he said.
Bathurst Real Estate principal Michael Whittaker said a number of factors had influenced the city’s house prices during the past 12 months.
“We’ve got a pretty strong university and we’ve still got quite strong industry, although retail is dealing with some issues at the moment, but I think that’s probably happening everywhere,” he said.
Mr Whittaker said each home had its “own merits” and that the data from Domain “probably means there was a few more sales above $420,000 than below $420,000”.