'Falling back to the old pattern': What's happening to house prices in the Snowy Mountains region?
The Snowy Mountains region has experienced incredible growth in the last few months but as the Australian property market shows signs of plateauing, there is speculation on what this means for the area.
The Domain House Price Report for the March quarter revealed the region – which includes the towns of Adaminaby, Cooma, Jindabyne, Perisher Valley, Khancoban, Thredbo, Tumbarumba and Tumut – had a median house price of $671,000, up an impressive 17.2 per cent over the quarter and 6.5 per cent year-on-year.
The growth in the Snowy Mountains surpassed that of Canberra’s median, which decreased by 2.5 per cent over the quarter and a further 8.4 per cent year-on-year to $1,047,112.
However, real estate agents working in the area have seen mixed results from listings.
Michael Henley of Henley Property, who sells across the popular regions of Jindabyne, Berridale, Cooma and Thredbo, said it had been a slow start to the year.
“If we look back at the beginning of the year, I thought it was quite stagnant, but from February to April we saw more growth,” he said.
“The Jindabyne market is falling back to the old pattern it always was pre-COVID, with a really strong unit market from autumn, and a good housing market over spring.”
A low level of supply in popular areas closer to the snow fields has contributed to continuously strong prices, but Henley said the number of people relocating was still lower than pre-COVID trends.
“There has been minimal growth over the last 12 months, and I think in terms of where the market trends might be going, it would be heavily dependent on what stock comes to the market,” he said.
Traditionally, the market slows down over the winter in both the capital cities and the regions.
While some areas in the Snowy Mountains might be seeing an increase in house prices, comparing one area to the next was like comparing the eastern and western suburbs of Sydney, said Michelle Stynes of Forbes Stynes Real Estate, who has been a listing agent in the area for more than 20 years and predominantly sells across Thredbo, Perisher and Lake Crackenback.
“Jindabyne is a fast-growing area with a brand-new school being built and lots of government spending,” she said, but “the increase of interest rates is definitely beginning to show signs of a slowing in holiday purchase areas such as Lake Crackenback and Thredbo”.
Stynes said she had recently seen a major decrease in areas that would have been selling very well 12 to 18 months ago.
“I did a sale 18 months ago of a property for $4.85 million and then I re-sold the exact property one season later for $4.3 million,” she said.
“The market has slowed down. There is still an appetite for particular properties – like anywhere – but it really depends on the stock.”
Check out our top pick of homes for sale in the Snowy Mountains region:
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