Photo Mullum Residents Association social media page
The region has seen falling house prices, new data from CoreLogic suggests.
They say the area stretching from Richmond Valley to the Tweed accounted for ten of the bottom 20 suburbs for house price increases across the whole country over the past two years, and five of the bottom 20 suburbs for weakest rise in unit values.
Tim Lawless, Core Logic’s head of research, says that natural disasters affecting the region had undoubtedly contributed to the falls, along with a ‘natural correction’ following the rarefied highs reached during the covid-induced mass migration of 2020-21.
Mullumbimby was the second-worst-performing market in the country, falling 27.1 per cent between April 2022 and April 2024.
This result was only slightly better than that recorded in South Lismore, which saw a 31.2 per cent fall in prices. Not far behind was Bangalow, which recorded a fall of 25.9 per cent, Ocean Shores (-22.3 per cent), Suffolk Park (-21.2 per cent) and Brunswick Heads (-20.1 per cent). Byron Bay also featured in the bottom 20 list, recording a fall of 18.3 per cent.
Price correction
Realtor Mark Cochrane, from North Coast Lifestyle Properties, supports the view and told The Echo, ‘There’s no doubt in my mind that the current correction in Byron Shire of between 20 per cent and 25 per cent has multifactorial causation’.
‘The three issues are flood impact, rising interest rates and what I call a “communal consciousness of caution”.
The result of the last-mentioned issue is a huge downturn in buyer enquiry, and consequent fall in the volume of sales being negotiated. Sales numbers are currently lower in Byron Shire than at any time in the last decade.
‘The real estate market, just like the share market, is driven by “sentiment”, and sentiment is currently being affected by the natural disaster recently inflicted on us, with the 2022 major storm event.
‘The first question a buyer has right now is, “Did this property flood”? This issue is top of mind, unless of course the house is on top of a hill, in which case it’s “Have there been any slips nearby”?
‘Caution prevails!
‘The quantum of this impact on value varies in every case. Weatherboard houses that can be raised suffer less than brick homes that can’t be raised.
‘Naturally, houses that didn’t flood are holding their value much better.
‘One of the less mentioned impacts that climate change and the resulting floods have had is the impact on “insurability”.
‘Many insurance companies will simply not quote for business in flood-affected towns, even if you don’t want flood cover, and premiums have skyrocketed. This indirectly impacts on the market as well, because of this extra cost imposition.
‘Also worthy of mention is the increasing cost of construction to comply with local government’s stricter building requirements, as a result of climate change impacts.
‘In the long term, it is in everyone’s interests to adapt, as we must to lessen both the financial and emotional stress that natural disasters impose on us, and at the same time, never forget that we live in the best part of the best country in the world’, Cochrane said.
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