BOOM TOWN BYRON

PRICES ON RISE

BYRON Bay locals joke that the millionaires are annoyed with the billionaires for buying all the property.

Some claim prices have rocketed 600 per cent, while the more realistic estimate the market has risen about 15 per cent in some areas and up to 40 per cent in others.

Those increases are this year alone. Hot property is obviously beachfront and also hinterland.

It is cashed-up executives and business leaders who are pushing the prices up, locals and real estate agents say.

Belle Property Byron Bay/ Lennox Head owner Braden Walters and real estate agent Brad Rogan describe the booming market as “white hot, not just red hot”.

“There is a high demand, you can’t stop people from wanting to live here,” former Sydney agent Mr Walters said.

“Because the corporate climate has changed in bigger cities now, people are having to work remotely and if they are going to work remotely they are going to do it from Byron or the region and fly back to Sydney or Melbourne every month.”

Even before COVID-19, bigger companies such as Split Payments and TripADeal began setting up companies in Byron’s new industrial estate. But it is COVID-19 that has driven the market this year.

Initially, during the first wave of the pandemic, locals described Byron Bay as a ghost town but as restrictions eased and city dwellers looked for alternatives, the property market took off.

The rental market is so hot that agents estimate they get about 60 applications per property. For the first time Mr Walters can remember, they have an extensive waiting list for rentals.

Those who pay a premium win — and sales are the same.

“Stock levels and rental levels are so low that people are competing,” Mr Rogan said. “It is not normal. People are paying a year upfront, they are paying a premium to get what they want.”

The market in the hinterland is even more sought after than houses in the town. Properties range from hundreds of thousands in outlying suburbs and small towns to $20m in exclusive suburbs such as Wategos Beach.

“It is that hinterland stock that provides privacy and a bit of exclusivity,” Walters said. “The outskirt suburbs of Byron, we’re seeing around 15 per cent increase on the year and we are only three-quarters of the way through.

“There’s nothing to rent so they buy. These are $4m or $5m properties.”

Some locals are outraged over the price increases, arguing affordable housing should be established to ensure they can stay in the township.