Where you can tree-change like The Block 2022 in your own capital city
Need a break from the big city? Fancy a room with a view of nothing but greenery?
Watching the Blockheads crafting their perfect tree-change escapes makes us all start dreaming of life beyond the traffic, concrete and tower blocks of our cities.
But with a bit of careful forethought, you don’t have to move further than a commutable distance from our state capitals to find that perfect location.
Those homes on The Block, for instance, are in Gisborne, just a 45-minute drive from Melbourne’s CBD. But there are plenty of great homes a similar distance from our city centres, or certainly not too much further.
| Capital city | Median house price |
| Brisbane: | |
| Wongawallan/Luscombe | $810,000 |
| Samford | $917,250 |
| Adelaide: | |
| McLaren Vale | $665,000 |
| Gawler | $445,000 |
| Sydney: | |
| Dural | $1,822,500 |
| Glenbrook | $1,329,018 |
| Perth: | |
| Northam | $265,000 |
| Melbourne: | |
| Trentham | $850,000 |
| Gisborne | $1,050,000 |
Still in Victoria, for instance, Trentham is another tree-change favourite, just 90 kilometres from Melbourne.
“It’s only an hour from the city but it’s very much part of the Central Highlands area,” says Ceri Spain of Belle Property Trentham, who made her own tree change to move there in 2012.
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The Block 2022 listings are now live, and updated weekly. See them here.
“You can have a really quality lifestyle here, with fresh air and peace, as well as great restaurants, one of the best bakeries in the country and beautiful gardens. It’s an easy distance from the city, but you also have everything you need here.”
Although many of the homes in Trentham are comparatively affordable, with a median house price of $850,000, she’s currently selling a stunning nearly-new four-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 10 Wallaby Jack Road on 2000 square metres of land, for $1,657,000.
In Sydney, a tree change not too far from the CBD is more expensive, but still much cheaper than a comparable home in the city. In Dural, about 40 minutes away to the north-west, for example, the median house price is $1,822,500.
One exquisite tree-changer for sale, however, is at 1009 Old Northern Road, with an expressions of interest campaign at about $4 million.
For that, however, you get two family homes on the same piece of land, just under one hectare, with a total of seven bedrooms and four bathrooms.
“A lot of rural properties are five acres but this is less than half that, so very manageable for someone who doesn’t want to mow all that grass,” says Judy Pope of agency Upside.
“It offers a beautiful rural lifestyle but close to all the amenities, like cafes and restaurants and parks.”
A good alternative could be in Sydney’s lower Blue Mountains town of Glenbrook, with its median of $1,329,000, bushland, vast expanses of green bouncing with kangaroos, and plenty bike and walking tracks and natural swimming holes.
Agent Daniel Jennings of Stubbs & Co is selling a house at 12 Clifton Avenue for $1.38 million to $1.45 million, just under an hour’s drive from the centre of the city.
“Glenbrook is very popular with tree-changers at the moment,” he says.
“It’s a beautifully quiet and peaceful place but also so vibrant. This house is in the middle of the bush, away from everything, but at the same time it’s only 600 metres to the village and its cafes.”
Brisbane also has a range of areas not far from the city, but far enough to really appreciate the surrounding emerald-green countryside.
Samford is one destination just a 45-minute drive north-west of Brisbane, and fabulously picturesque, with a median house price of $917,250.
“It has everything right at your fingertips,” says Belle Property Samford agent Georgie Haug.
“There are horse-riding tracks, farmers’ markets and you can throw yourself into becoming a part of the community, or just enjoy the privacy and relaxation.”
One architect-designed home for sale is a five-bedroom, two-bathroom house in a parkside setting at 67 Cash Avenue, with a price guide of $1.2 million.
Another Brisbane tree-change spot is Wongawallan, with an $810,000 median, 40 minutes from Brisbane and 25-30 minutes from the Gold Coast.
There’s a magnificent five-bedroom house on offer there with creek frontages and surrounded by trees at 892-886 Tamborine Oxenford Road for offers significantly higher, at $1.8 million to $2 million.
“It would definitely be a great place for a tree change,” says agent Kris Valcic of Amir Prestige Southport.
“It’s absolutely unique being in that creek, there. We’ve had a lot of inquiries from potential buyers interstate, too, who are looking for a tree change.”
Adelaide’s top tree-change beauties would be McLaren Vale, 45 minutes south of the city with a median of $665,000, and Gawler at $445,000, a similar distance north.
In the latter, there’s a beautiful 1920-built cottage for sale at 2-4 Edith Street just a short walk to the main street and priced at $490,000, a tad over the median.
“It’s the gateway to the Barossa Valley and you have the beach only 45 minutes away, too,” says Ray White Gawler agent Bailey Truscott.
“Fifty per cent of the people buying property here are moving from cities now or their suburbs, looking for a tree change.”
For city-slickers in Perth, a great rural alternative is Northam, an hour and a half to the east in the wheatbelt. There, the median house price is a lowly $265,000.
“It’s a great place with only one set of traffic lights,” says Elders North agent Michelle Allardyce, who’s selling an iconic historic property there, the four-bedroom, two-bathroom “Carami” at 38 Newcastle Road for $748,000.
“Northam is a rural area with a lot of gum trees and is very peaceful and very, very affordable, yet it has all the facilities you need. And the most important thing – a great sense of community. That’s something you treasure in a tree change.”
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