THE high-end property market in Bathurst is booming, with an unbelievable number of homes selling for over $1 million in 2020.
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And, believe it or not, it's locals who are willing to spend the big bucks.
Raine and Horne Bathurst director Grant Maskill-Dowton said that, in an average year, there's very few residential properties that will sell for over $1 million.
The year 2020 bucked that trend, though, with there being 19 residential properties - not rural or commercial - selling for seven-figure sums.
Of them, 13 were sold by Raine and Horne.
"On average, our office would typically turnover maybe one to two properties over $1 million a year," Mr Maskill-Dowton said.
The biggest sale, unsurprisingly, was a property on Mount Panorama, 489 Conrod Straight.
It had been in the owners' family for generations and it was the first time in 88 years that it was up for sale.
It eventually sold for $1.6 million to an Australian race car driver who now lives in the United States of America.
The second-highest sale was 194 Boundary Road, also in the Mount Panorama footprint, which sold for $1.35 million.
Mount Panorama properties always have a high price tag, but the million dollar homes sold last year were spread all over Bathurst.
There were multiple homes sold in Blue Ridge Estate, including two in Blue Ridge Drive, and three homes in the Wentworth Estate, off the Mitchell Highway, also sold for in excess of $1 million.
Two properties near the Bathurst central business district, 255 Bentinck Street and 166 Rocket Street, sold for $1.14 and $1.12 million respectively.
"The locations are spread around. I certainly think Bentinck Street and Rocket Street, they're two amazing sales for the CBD of Bathurst," Mr Maskill-Dowton said.
"... That's amazing that those older homes now, people have got a true appreciation for them and they're prepared to pay the money for them."
People are quick to assume that million-dollar properties are snapped up by Sydney buyers, but that's actually not the case.
Mr Maskill-Dowton said these homes are mostly purchased by buyers from either Bathurst or the Central West.
"The reality of it is that people from Sydney can sell something for that sort of money there and come here, spend $700,000 or $800,000 and have something so much better than what they had in the city," he said.
"More local people are prepared to take the plunge and spend more money because they know the area, the sort of houses, they're confident in the market."
In a year where a pandemic caused so much uncertainty, the question is: what made people want to buy?
Mr Maskill-Dowton said there were a few reasons.
One, people who would normally spend a lot of money on overseas travel were saving money, and, two, the need to work from home made many people realise they needed more space.
"The other big thing is that money is cheap. Interest rates are still so cheap that if ever there was a time people are going to commit to that sort of mortgage, that was the time to do it," he said.
More high-end homes are expected to be sold in 2021, with Mr Maskill-Dowton saying his agency already had two under offer for more than $1 million.
